The Third Portal
by 50of47
Summary: SUMMARY: Having safely come through the Second Portal, Voyager's crew is back in normal space. They will begin their search for the Third Portal map after enjoying several days of shore leave and completing much-needed repairs to Voyager.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: All references to Star Trek® or any of its characters are the copyright of Paramount, Inc. The "Gauntlet" series of stories is a non-profit endeavor solely for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement is intended. The "Gauntlet" concept, including the Abrasite setting, 13 Portals, Map Keeper and other unique characters in "Gauntlet 1," "Gauntlet 2" and "Gods of the Corn" are the property of Karen Tomlinson. "The Third Portal" story's unique mileu and characters are the property of this author.

RATING: PG-13

NOTE: To read the stories preceding this one, please go to an earlier version of "The Second Portal" at sky dot prohosting dot com/jsnexus/50of47/portal dot html for the links. Just replace the word "dot" with a period. The Author's Notes there contain links to the three stories which begin this series.

SUMMARY: Having safely come through the Second Portal, Voyager's crew is back in normal space. They will begin their search for the Third Portal map after enjoying several days of shore leave and completing much-needed repairs to _Voyager_.

**The Third Portal**

by 50of47

Last Time on Star Trek: Voyager:

Once _Voyager_ had safely passed through the First Portal, Captain and crew found themselves in an alternate reality. The Magol and two ships out of the other ten that had entered the wormhole with them survived the journey. The Magol captain, Gunlag, set out in pursuit of _Voyager_ and the map after forming an alliance with the Abuskat and Tarkada, the alien races aboard the two other surviving ships.

Just as the last quadlet of the Second Portal map was fusing itself to the other three, a Magol alliance raiding party snatched it from the away team's hands, leaving _Voyager_ no other choice but to attempt to travel through the Second Portal with only the First Portal map's incomplete protection.

The Magol succeeded in forcing the Abuskat ship into a particle fountain, where it was destroyed. They then entered the Second Portal with only that Portal's section of the map and were subsequently destroyed themselves. The Tarkada entered the Second Portal at the same time as the Magol, and successfully made it through to Third Portal space.

_Voyager's_ crew recovered the stolen portion of the indestructible map when it was ejected from the Portal along with the debris from the destroyed Magol ship. By using the recovered quadlets in combination with the First Portal set previously gathered, _Voyager_ and itscrew safely passed into Third Portal space, where Janeway ordered Tom Paris to set the ship down on a friendly planet for much-needed repairs. The governmental officials of Sirana also extended shore leave privileges to the crew.


	2. Teaser

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Teaser**

**Third Portal space, Day 3:  
**Saturday, February 6, 2377  
Stardate 54100.1

Sirana, planetside, 1253 hours:

"Oh, Chakotay, it's beautiful!" Kathryn Janeway exclaimed as she took in the sight of the wildflower-filled meadow spread out before her. She could see Samantha and Naomi Wildman waiting in the distance for them to arrive with the picnic lunch in the container slung over Chakotay's shoulder, but Janeway hung back, wanting to spend a little more time soaking in the natural beauty around her. Chakotay raised a hand to signal the Wildmans to wait just a little longer.

Janeway spent a few minutes just looking around at the unfamiliar flowers and trees that were flourishing under a pinkish lavender sky. The entire surface of the meadow was covered with delicate white and pastel-colored flowers on long, thin stems with feathery leaves. The spaces between the clumps of flowers were filled in with lichen and wispy ferns. The meadow itself was surrounded by an old-growth forest on three sides. A few of the tall conifer trees had seeded themselves a short distance into the meadow some decades ago, and now provided a shady respite from the hot Siranian autumn sun.

"You were right, Chakotay," said Janeway. "It's just as beautiful as that meadow we found on New Earth about a month after we settled in there. Remember?"

Chakotay smiled as he answered, "I do. We didn't have a lavender sky on New Earth, Kathryn, but somehow, it feels right here."

"Yes. And these wildflowers are some of the more unusual I've seen anywhere. I'm so glad you headed off the Doctor and used your powers of persuasion to rescue me from under my pile of reports."

"Glad I could help." Chakotay noticed Naomi Wildman impatiently beckoning to them from under a tree at the edge of the meadow. He said, "I think someone is ready for her picnic lunch."

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting any longer," said Janeway as she tugged on the strap of the container on Chakotay's shoulder. They both laughed and started across the meadow through the flowers along a well-worn path that had obviously been made by countless picnickers before them.

--

On the edge of the forest surrounding the meadow:

Dinsar and Dursat, the Tarkana twin brothers who had worked on Gunlag's ship during the recent Magol alliance, hid in the undergrowth at the forest's edge close to where the _Voyager_ crewmembers had started to enjoy their picnic lunch.

"Do you think they would even consider helping us?" Dursat asked.

"I don't know," his brother answered. "We did badly injure one of them in that cave."

"Gunlag and his men are at fault, not us. _Voyager's_ man was already badly injured when I fired to bring down more of the cave wall on him. "

"My brother, you are making legalistic arguments. It may not matter to them exactly who injured him," said Dinsar. "Everyone protects and favors their own."

"That is true, but Jerat's information on their captain and crew indicated that they are an open-minded, compassionate species," said Dursat, referring to one of their crewmember's spying mission aboard _Voyager_ while using a personal stealth cloak. "They might understand our plight and be willing to help in exchange for some of our sensor technology or possibly our cloaks. They have nothing like either one."

"We were part of the boarding party when the Magol tried to kidnap their captain," said Dinsar. "I shot her."

"The Magol leading the party shot her as well when he made his escape, yet they released him – I saw him in the public square earlier today. What are we waiting for? Captain Helar insists we make contact," said Dursat.

"And we will," said Dinsar, "but it should not be here. You know as well as I do that our appearance will startle them. We do not resemble the _Voyagers_ or even the inhabitants of this world sufficiently to be able to disguise our present appearance. Their man with the facial marking sitting under that tree was in the cave, and will certainly recognize us. Better to pick a time and place when we do not stand out quite as obviously as we would in this setting. Perhaps we can find a crew member who did not see us with whom to make the initial contact."

"And that will be when?"

"Wait and see." The brothers activated their personal stealth cloaks and crept closer to listen to the picnicking _Voyager_ crew's conversation.


	3. Act 1

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**ACT 1**

Back at the picnic site under the shady tree, Chakotay had already spread out a large blanket he had brought with him, and was busy handing around the prepared lunch.

"What would a picnic be without Neelix's deviled throck sandwiches?" said Samantha Wildman.

"Deviled egg for me," said Chakotay, "but nearly everyone else in the crew really seems to go for the deviled throck. To each his own," he said with a smile as he set out corn, potato, and fruit salads, along with paper plates, napkins and utensils.

"I wonder what food they'll have at the festival," said Naomi. "I hope nothing icky."

"Festival? I must have been buried too deep in fuel consumption reports to have heard anything about a festival. Chakotay, why didn't you say something?" asked Janeway, giving her first officer a light smack on the arm.

"Maybe because this is the first I'm hearing about it?" He rubbed his arm and gave Janeway a wounded puppy dog look.

"Oh, come on. I didn't hit you that hard."

Naomi giggled and said, "We didn't find out about it until this morning, Captain. Lieutenant Paris told us, and he heard it from the Delaney sisters."

"They have a harvest festival here every year that sounds a little bit like Neelix's Prixin," said Samantha Wildman. "They use the end of their harvest season as a time for renewing ties with friends and family, among other things. It runs for about two weeks, and I understand from Tom that we've managed to arrive on Sirana just as it's getting underway."

"Leave it to those three to find out about a party when we could really use one," said Chakotay as Janeway laughed. "I'll have to ask him about it when we get back to the ship."

"And I'll speak to the Siranian ambassador as well," said Janeway. "They appear to be a very open people, judging by scuttlebutt I've heard so far, but I don't know how they'd feel about a shipload of strangers from across the galaxy showing up at a celebration that's so family-oriented."

"Tom didn't think it would present a problem when he mentioned it to us," said Samantha Wildman, "but it's probably best that you ask them officially, Captain, just to be sure."

"It never hurts, even if you're pretty certain what the answer will be, Samantha," said Janeway. "I don't expect any difficulty either, and it would be good for the crew after all the stress we were under in Second Portal space. I'll just check to see if there are any special customs we need to be aware of."

"Good idea," said Chakotay. "Now, are you ladies ready for dessert?" The resulting squeals and smiles answered his question better than words as Chakotay handed around the Jibalian fudge bars he had replicated earlier while still in Janeway's ready room.

--

In the public square on Sirana, towards evening:

Imot hurried across the public square, determined to find a shop selling inexpensive curios and novelties. He had been successful in locating some old friends from his Siranian freighter days, and Imot was now eager to find a small gift to take with him to the evening meal a former crewmate had invited him to share with his family.

Imot reached the edge of the square and was about to enter a shop when he was brought up short by a voice just above a hoarse whisper calling his name. He turned to see two figures that looked somewhat familiar, but they were standing too far back in the shadows of a nearby alley for him to know who they might be. He decided to trust the instinct that said it was safe to speak to them. He stepped into the alley, and was shocked to find himself standing before Dinsar and Dursat of the Tarkada.

"I thought you died on Gunlag's ship when it was destroyed," Imot said in his typical direct manner.

"We had the foresight to activate our personal cloaks when your captain attacked our ship," said Dinsar. "Our shuttle was still aboard the _Herat_, so we made our way to it, activated the cloak, and managed to escape. We were able to return to our ship before it entered the Portal, otherwise we would not be here to talk to you."

"And how is it that _you_ are here?" asked Dursat. "Janeway's shipmates did not imprison you for attempting to kidnap their captain?"

"They're an unusually tolerant people," answered Imot. "Their first officer understood why I had to do it once I explained. He refused to send me back to Gunlag, knowing that I would be tortured to death. In return, I charted the course to the second wormhole for them and directed them to this planet once they had passed through. They were in desperate need of supplies and some overhaul to their ship. I knew of the Siranians from having worked on their cargo ships."

"And the Voyagers just let you go?" asked Dinsar in amazement.

"As I said, they understood my plight. Gunlag had captured their first officer and tortured him before we even went through the first wormhole. I owe them my life," Imot said simply.

"And you feel they are trustworthy? Even their captain?" asked Dursat. Imot nodded. "Perhaps they will be able to help us then."

"Will they be here much longer? Can you contact them?" asked Dinsar.

"I am quite certain they are still on Sirana. Their crew has been taking shore leave, and I've spoken with several of them when we chanced to meet earlier this afternoon. It will be several days before their ship is fully repaired."

"Our Captain Helar has asked that we make contact with Captain Janeway. Can you arrange this?" asked Dursat.

"I will try, but now I must leave you to finish an errand and join an old friend and his family for dinner. Is there some way I can contact you if I am able to arrange a meeting?"

Dinsar reached into a pocket of his uniform and drew out a small communication device. "This is programmed with a frequency that will signal us. Activate the device here," he said as he indicated a button, "and we will respond and arrange a time and place to meet."

"All right, then. I cannot promise that I will be able to set up a meeting, but I will try," said Imot.

"That is all that we ask," said Dursat. "Tell them that we have information that they will find useful. In exchange, we will ask for their help. If they are as tolerant as you say, the meeting would be mutually beneficial."

"Fair enough," said Imot. "I will try." With that, Imot stepped out of the alley and hurried into a nearby shop to complete his errand.

--

Janeway's quarters, Later that evening:

"What did the ambassador say?" asked Chakotay as he and Janeway sat discussing ship's business over dinner.

"He was falling all over himself with apologies for not having brought it to my attention sooner," said Janeway. "It seems his office was swamped with preparations for the festival, and it slipped his mind.

"That's a pretty thin excuse," said Chakotay.

"That's what I thought at first, but he went on to explain that the planet gets visitors from several neighboring sectors and even quite far beyond," said Janeway. "Their festival includes a trade exposition as a means of promoting Siranian products and technology, and merchants from other planets are encouraged to bring the best and newest of what their cultures have to offer. Ambassador Rakeem told me that the Siranian government generates a good portion of its planetary income from buying up and then reselling the surplus goods its citizens produce to festival visitors, and the Siranian people get to sample new off-world merchandise without the inconvenience and expense of having to travel off-world to seek it out. The festival includes food, textiles, artwork, and entertainment in addition to technology and manufactured goods. It sounded to me like he was describing a gigantic street fair," she said with a wave of her hand.

"Or the Nardonian marketplace," said Chakotay.

"That thought did cross my mind. I've already asked Neelix to go down there tomorrow afternoon after he finishes serving lunch and check it out," Janeway said, as she rose to get another cup of coffee from the replicator. "Can I get you anything?"

"Another cup of tea would be nice," said Chakotay as he handed his empty cup to Janeway. He thought for a moment, and then asked, "Kathryn, do you think it's wise to send him down alone?"

"It's perfectly safe, Chakotay. This is not Natra we're discussing."

"That's not what I meant. Neelix behaved himself in the Nardonian marketplace, but I think it's because Tuvok had just lectured him about not calling attention to himself. I'd feel more comfortable if Tom, Tuvok, and I went with him."

"Tuvok's meditating over the map, and asked that he not be disturbed for the next two days, unless I need him," said Janeway.

"How is Tuvok, by the way? I heard he went down to the planet today with Vorik. It's not like him to voluntarily take any kind of shore leave."

Janeway sat and handed Chakotay his cup of tea. "He's recovered from the effects of having the Second Portal map telepathically controlling him, but I think he wanted a break from linking to it before starting his next meditation."

"I can't say that I blame him," said Chakotay.

"I think I can prevail upon him to attend the briefing tomorrow and say a few well-chosen words to Neelix if you feel it's that important," said Janeway.

"I do, Kathryn."

"Then I'll speak to him tonight. Your Tasnixia bond should do the rest of the work to keep him in line."

Chakotay shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he said, "Yes, there's always that."

"Is it any less intrusive?" asked Janeway.

"Not really, but I'm starting to get used to it. It's more like background noise now."

"Maybe you'll get to the point where you just sense the connection, but can block out most of the intrusion unless something important needs to be conveyed."

"One can only hope," said Chakotay as he raised his cup of tea in approval of the idea.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 4:  
**Monday, February 7, 2377  
Stardate 54102.7

Briefing Room, 11:39 hours:

"It's really going to be much simpler this time," said Torres. "We're in normal space."

"Indeed," said Tuvok. "There will be no need for the isolation field function of the emergency transporter armbands. They can be calibrated for normal space, as can the subspace transponders.

"If it's normal space, I don't see why we have to wear the armbands at all," said Paris.

"Ambassador Rakeem told me that this festival draws visitors from the surrounding sectors and beyond," said Janeway. "I'm sure there's less of a need for the armbands, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. You'll also use the implanted subspace transponders to communicate just as you did in the Nardonian marketplace. As a precaution, I don't want you using Federation technology openly."

When he saw Tom Paris about to object to that as well, Harry Kim said, "C'mon Tom. You know as well as I do that_ Voyager's_ reputation usually precedes us. There's going to be people from all over. Do you really want to be a target if someone knows we have the map? That kind of news can travel really fast by subspace communications. It probably wouldn't even have to go through Second Portal space to reach here ahead of us."

"All right, you win," said Paris.

"Commander Chakotay," said Tuvok, "I have as yet been unable to detect a new frequency for this Portal space from the map, if indeed there is one. Therefore, I would suggest you wear the concealed beacon frequency locator with the same setting that was used in Second Portal space.

"A hunch, Tuvok?" asked Chakotay as he glanced quickly at Janeway, who gave an almost imperceptible smile.

"If you wish to call it that."

"Can't go without what makes you... you, big guy," smirked Tom Paris.

"Well, yes and no, Mr. Paris," said Janeway. "We're going to forgo the interlink cortical transmitter, at least for now."

"For which you have my undying gratitude, at least for now," said Chakotay. His comment was met by chuckles from everyone around the table except Tuvok and Seven.

"I obtained a schedule from Ambassador Rakeem, and there are several events scheduled for 1600 in the public square of Sirana City," said Janeway. "We'll beam you down around that time, and there should be enough of a crowd that the three of you won't attract much notice."

Neelix shifted uncomfortably in his seat and began, "Uh, captain..."

"Neelix, the crew will have to make do with whatever evening meal you can prepare on short notice. Ask Mr. Chell to help you. If the two of you don't have enough time to come up with something, we'll manage on rations or the replicator. I need you on this mission."

"Of course, Captain. I was only thinking of the crew," said Neelix.

"I know, but this is more important. We need a gregarious jack-of-all trades to circulate, and the last time I looked, that's you. You were a big help to us on Nardonia."

"Indeed," said Tuvok. "There was no repetition in the Nardonian marketplace of your untoward behavior on Natra, and I trust that will be the case this time as well."

Neelix bristled slightly at Tuvok's comment, and Chakotay saw the opportunity to reinforce Tuvok's admonishment.

"Neelix," he said, tapping his temple to indicate the Tasnixia connection, "I will be paying very close attention. We need you to remain low-key and not take any initiatives. Negotiate only for food supplies, and anything on the list we're going to give you."

"Will do, Commander," he responded. Neelix had caught Chakotay's meaning at once, and sighed. His face took on an uncharacteristic glum expression as the thought passed through his mind that having a telepathic bond with one's commanding officer might not be as good a thing as he thought at first. Chakotay noticed and nodded to Tuvok in silent thanks for the reminder.

"Tuvok, you're dismissed to return to your meditation over the map," said Janeway. "The rest of us have a few details to work out before the away team beams down this afternoon."

Tuvok nodded and left the briefing room.

--

Planetside on Sirania, 1430 hours:

Chakotay, Tom Paris, and Neelix materialized in a secluded area on the edge of the public square of Sirana's capital city. They were dressed in the same nondescript clothing they had worn in the Nardonian marketplace, again with their technology concealed.

"Neelix, you're on your own to circulate and gather information," said Chakotay. "The Captain said Tuvok told her that we shouldn't necessarily expect to find the next part of the map the same way we did any of the previous quadlets, so keep that in mind."

"Right, Mr. Chakotay," said Neelix.

"Tom and I are going to go look over some of the technology exhibits. Be careful using the subdermal transponder if you need to com us."

"I will," said Neelix as he headed off along the edge of the public square. Chakotay and Paris watched him work his way through the crowd toward the food court, and then they turned and headed off in the opposite direction.

Neelix stopped for a while to watch an acrobatic troupe entertaining a large crowd of onlookers, and then he pushed on to the food court to begin sampling the various prepared dishes the merchants had on offer. He tried a few different soups and several fried delicacies he felt confident of being able to duplicate for the crew, and negotiated with the merchants for recipes and ingredients to bring back to the ship.

He continued to sample and negotiate his way though the vegetarian and meat sections, and then moved on to a booth selling various confections and baked goods. Neelix had just bitten into a large fruit-filled flaky pastry when he heard his name being called. He turned in the direction from which the voice had come and was surprised to see Imot hurrying toward him.

"Neelix, this is unexpected," said Imot.

"Captain Janeway sent me down to scout out new food resources for the crew," Neelix said, in between swallowing bites of the pastry. "Have you tried this? It's very tasty."

"No, not yet," responded Imot. "Neelix, do you have a moment? I need to talk with you. It's important."

"Just let me finish my dealings with this merchant, and I will be right with you," said Neelix. Imot nodded, and the Talaxian turned back to the dealer in the booth to negotiate with him for the recipe and ingredients to duplicate the pastry back in his galley. Once he was done, he crossed the short distance over to where Imot was waiting for him.

"Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" said Neelix.

Imot pulled him over to an area of the public square that was less crowded and offered a little more privacy. Neelix's curiosity went into overdrive.

"Neelix," said Imot, "I'm sorry to trouble you with this, but two allies of my former captain wish to speak with Captain Janeway. They said they need her help and that they have information your captain could use."

"What kind of information?"

"I don't know," said Imot. "They didn't tell me."

"And you say they were allies of Gunlag?"

"Reluctant allies would be my guess. They needed to get through the second wormhole, and their ships were disabled and near the _Herat_ after we came through the first one. It was more an alliance of convenience than anything else," said Imot.

"Why should my Captain trust them? They helped Gunlag attack us."

"I think their situation was very much like mine – they did what they had to so they could survive." Imot spoke earnestly, saying, "Neelix, these are decent people. I worked with these two on Gunlag's ship, and also the pilot of one of their stealth shuttles, and I think that if there had been another way for them to get through the wormhole, they would never have joined with Gunlag in an alliance. Can it hurt to at least hear what they have to say?"

"I suppose not," Neelix said.

"Give me a few moments to summon them," said Imot.

"All right. I will be over at that merchant's stall," said Neelix as he pointed to a particular confectionary booth.

Imot moved away to a location even less crowded than where he and Neelix had been standing and activated the communications device the Tarkada brothers had given him. After a few minutes waiting time, it beeped to signal an incoming message. Imot fumbled with the remaining buttons on the unfamiliar keypad until he was able to activate two-way voice communication.

"Have you arranged a meeting for us?" asked Dursat.

"I've run into _Voyager's_ morale officer, who also serves as their ambassador," said Imot. "He has agreed to speak with you, but is cautious, since I had to tell him you had allied with Gunlag."

"Was that truly necessary?" asked an annoyed Dinsar.

"Dinsar, these are good and trustworthy people, unlike my former shipmates on the _Herat_. You must deal with them honestly and openly if you expect their aid."

"Very well. Remain where you are. The device we gave you has a position beacon that will guide us to where you are. We will arrive shortly."

Imot closed the connection and put the device into his pocket. He had doubts about the wisdom of introducing the brothers to anyone on _Voyager's_ crew, let alone Captain Janeway, but he truly felt that the Tarkada were honorable people who had been pushed into an intolerable situation with Gunlag by circumstance, much as he had been when he lost his standing as an Essential on the Akiris family's flagship because of his own poor judgment.

_They at least deserve a hearing, which is more than I got from Captain Akiris_, he thought. _Neelix is no fool. If these two are up to some underhanded scheme, he will easily see through them. _

Finally, after several minutes of waiting, Imot saw Dinsar and Dursat approaching through the crowd. He turned toward the confectionary booth where Neelix was just concluding his business and caught the Talaxian's eye. Imot gestured for Neelix to join them just as the Tarkada brothers arrived.

Neelix finished up his transaction and walked over to join the group. The Tarkada gestured toward an unoccupied area some distance behind one of the booths, and the four of them walked over.

"Neelix, these are the two that I spoke to you about," said Imot. "Their names are Dinsar and Dursat."

Neelix stood silently for a few moments, eyeing the brothers with suspicion as he took in their appearance. "You're not like any species I've ever met. Who _are_ you?"

Dinsar answered as spokesman for both of them. "We are from a race that calls itself the Tarkada. Our captain asked that we contact your leader to discuss an important matter with her."

"And why would she wish to discuss anything with your captain? You attacked us," said Neelix.

"An action which we deeply regret," said Dursat. "The truth is that we need aid, and she is the only one who can help us."

"Brother," said Dinsar as he glared at Dursat. He turned back to Neelix. "My brother spoke out of turn, but he is correct. We do need your captain's assistance, and can offer information of use to her in exchange."

"Oh? What assistance? And what information?"

"My captain prefers to discuss our needs directly with Captain Janeway, but I can show you what we have to offer," said Dinsar. That said, he glanced over his shoulder to be certain that they were unobserved. Dinsar drew a large unmarked envelope out of a shoulder bag he was wearing and handed it to Neelix.

The Talaxian looked at him with a quizzical expression for a moment, and then started to withdraw the contents of the envelope. He was stunned to find himself looking at what appeared to be a quadlet of the Third Portal map. It took him a moment to find his voice. "Where...?"

"We believe it to be genuine," said Dursat. "We ask only to speak with your captain."

"That's not my decision to make," replied Neelix. "Two of _Voyager's_ senior officers are here on Sirana with me. I need to contact them for permission to bring you aboard _Voyager_." Dursat nodded.

Neelix slid the quadlet back into the envelope and handed it over to Dinsar. He moved away a short distance and turned his back on the group. Neelix mimed removing a communication device from his pocket and raised his hand to speak using the implanted subdermal transponder. "Mr. Chakotay, there's something here where I am that you need to see."

"Are you all right, Neelix?" asked Chakotay, concern evident in his voice.

"Yes... yes I am. I just got a shock, that's all. I'd rather let you see what caused it for yourself. I'm in behind the confectionary stands with Imot and two others. Commander, they're from one of the ships that attacked us. They say they need our help."

"Calm down, Neelix," said Chakotay. "We started toward your position when I could sense your distress through our bond. Hang on, we're almost there."

"All right. Thank you, Commander. I'll go rejoin the group and wait for you. Neelix out." He mimed putting away a communicator and walked back to where Imot and the Tarkada brothers stood waiting for him to return.

"They are on their way to us," said Neelix. "How did you come by this?" he asked, gesturing to the envelope which Dinsar still held in his hands.

Dursat was about to answer when Chakotay and Paris strode into view. Imot saw them first and gestured them over.

"Officer Chakotay, these two brothers have been tasked by their captain with contacting Captain Janeway. They have something of value they would like offer in exchange for your captain's assistance."

Chakotay turned to look more closely at the twin brothers. He realized with a start that they had been part of the attack party led by Gunlag that had ambushed the map team in the cavern when they were retrieving the last quadlet of the Second Portal map. He stiffened, and then said, "This had better be good."

Dinsar wordlessly extended the envelope to Chakotay. As the First Officer grasped it and began to remove the contents, he felt a tingling against his chest where the beacon locator was attached. His startled glance met Neelix's eyes, and the Talaxian just nodded. They both looked at Paris, who glanced at the small portion of the envelope's contents that he could see and understood immediately what Chakotay was holding.

"If I agree to take you aboard _Voyager_ to meet Captain Janeway, what are you planning to ask her for?" said Chakotay.

"Merely to be allowed to accompany you through the next wormhole," said Dursat. "We have a very long journey ahead of us to reach our homeworld, and the wormhole will help shorten it. In exchange for that consideration, we will give you what you are holding in your hands, and will also share our stealth technology without asking you to share anything of yours in return. During our unfortunate alliance with the Magol, we learned that you have nothing like it."

"All right," said Chakotay. "I can't speak as to what the Captain's final decision will be, but you've certainly got our interest." Not wishing to let the Tarkada see him use the subspace transponder imbedded in his palm, Chakotay discreetly removed a communicator from an inside vest pocket and activated it. "Chakotay to Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, we've run into Imot in the public square, and he's introduced us to two of Gunlag's former allies. They have an envelope containing a very interesting document I think both you and Tuvok should see. I need a security team sent to meet us in the transporter room, and then to have my com signal rerouted to the transport operator. We're about to have three visitors."

At hearing the request for a security detail, Dursat looked nervously at Dinsar, who said quietly to his brother, "If Imot says these are honorable people, then I believe him. I sense no betrayal here. Calm yourself." Dursat merely nodded at him, and did his best to school his facial expression into one of relaxed attentiveness.

"We'll wait for you in the briefing room, and I'll have Tuvok send a detail. Rerouting signal. Janeway out."

Chakotay herded the group into a tighter formation as he gave the security team time to reach the transporter room. His communicator beeped.

"Transporter room two standing by, Commander. Awaiting your instructions."

"This is Commander Chakotay. Has the security team arrived at your location yet?

"Yes, sir."

"Six to beam up."

"Energizing."

The away team and the three visitors materialized in transporter room two. Dursat cringed slightly when he saw the security team with their hands resting on their weapons, but a stern look from Dinsar made him straighten up and put a more neutral expression on his face. Chakotay nodded his thanks to the operator at the console and left the transporter room with Neelix, Tom, Imot, the Tarkada brothers, and the security team trailing his party.

--

The Briefing room:

Janeway and Tuvok stood near the viewport, waiting for the arrival of the away team and their three visitors. Janeway had already conveyed what little information she had gotten from Chakotay.

"The Commander did not give his reason for requesting my presence?" asked Tuvok.

"No, he didn't, Tuvok. He knew that you were meditating but on call if you were needed, and I know he wouldn't have considered disturbing you unless it was important. Chakotay was very careful not to say too much, so I'm assuming he didn't want to call attention to whatever it was he found. That festival could be full of prying eyes and ears, along with people searching for us and the map. That kind of news travels fast."

"Mr. Imot does not strike me as an idle gossip," said Tuvok.

"I don't think he is either, but he could inadvertently say something in passing that an opportunist might overhear and decide to use to his advantage."

At that moment, the map team, Imot, and the Tarkada brothers entered the briefing room, escorted by the security detail. Both Dinsar and Dursat paled slightly when they saw Tuvok. The Vulcan merely raised an eyebrow at seeing them and instructed the security detail to wait near the doors.

"Imot! This is a surprise," said Janeway as she came forward to shake his hand.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again either, Captain Janeway, but these two former associates approached me yesterday and asked if I could arrange a meeting with you," said Imot, as he gestured toward Dinsar and Dursat. "I ran into Neelix this afternoon, and well, here we are."

"I see," she said. Janeway turned to the brothers and said, "And you are..."

An abashed Imot quickly jumped in to make the introduction. "Captain, forgive my lack of manners. This is Dinsar and Dursat," he said, indicating each brother in turn, "and they are twin brothers from a race called the Tarkada."

"Really!" said Janeway, and she smiled as she extended her hand to them.

Seeing that Dinsar looked slightly confused, Neelix stepped forward. "Dinsar, is it? Dinsar nodded. "Our captain is extending her hand to you as a greeting. There is a custom on her world where people clasp hands and shake them, as she just did with Imot. This is done for several reasons, but on first meeting someone, it is meant as a gesture of friendship and good will."

"I understand," said Dinsar. He clasped Janeway's hand and shook it as Imot had, and Dursat followed his brother's example.

"We have a similar custom in our culture," Dursat said to Janeway. "We place open palms together to indicate our desire to know one another in an honest and forthright manner, concealing nothing. May I?" asked Dursat as he held out his hands in front of him, palms up.

"Of course," said Janeway as she placed her palms over Dursat's. Dinsar extended his palms to Janeway as well, and she greeted him in like manner.

"A curious gesture for a people apparently well-versed in the art of stealth," said Tuvok.

"You are...?" asked Dinsar.

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, Captain Janeway's Chief of Security."

Dinsar nodded. "Lieutenant Tuvok, to state the obvious, we have two arms and walk on two legs just as you do. However, our mottled blue skin coloration, distinctive spotted facial markings and crest of feathers rather than hair is considered quite unusual among other traders and also the races we have contact with on a regular basis. The Tarkada people developed advanced stealth technology to protect ourselves from those biased individuals who would oppress us merely because our appearance is not within their cultural expectations, and therefore beneath consideration as their equal."

"We can never simply blend in with other races such as yourself or the other Voyagers in this room," Dinsar continued nervously. "During the course of our history, our uniqueness has made us an easy target for numerous hostile races seeking to steal our abundant valuable minerals and the advanced technology we are able to derive from them. By unfortunate past experience, we have learned that we must use stealth to be able to meet and conduct business with those whom we find to be trustworthy, and also to help us find tolerant races beyond our home space with whom to open up new interstellar trade markets. We try at all times to deal openly, but it is not always possible."

"That is very understandable, wouldn't you say, Mr. Vulcan?" asked Neelix. He turned to Dinsar and Dursat and said, "And gentlemen, for what it is worth, I think your coloring and especially your feather crests are quite distinctive. I've never seen anything like them, and I dare say neither have my friends on _Voyager_."

"Mr. Neelix," said Tuvok with a glare.

"Well, they are," said Neelix. "Look at the way the light changes the color of the feathers so that they shimmer. I know that I certainly would never forget a people that looked like this if I had ever met them before."

Chakotay caught Tuvok's eye and shook his head almost imperceptibly to discourage the Vulcan from admonishing Neelix further. He felt Tuvok's tone of voice had been unnecessarily harsh, and Chakotay was concerned about smoothing over any potential awkwardness and defensiveness it may have created that would hinder open communication. He felt that Tuvok would understand his reasons once he knew what the Tarkada were offering.

Dursat finally overcame his nerves long enough to say, "Thank you, Neelix. The feathers are a vestige of our avian heritage far back in our evolutionary history. We were once five distinct sub-species on our homeworld, but countless cycles of intermarriage amongst ourselves have in the end produced a single race with the basic characteristics you now see."

"Dursat, I look forward to hearing more about your unique culture once you and your brother have concluded your business with our captain." Neelix turned to the other twin and said, "Dinsar, why don't you let Captain Janeway see what you showed Commander Chakotay and me, and then we can all sit down and talk about it."

"Of course." Dinsar extended the envelope to Janeway, who glanced quickly at Chakotay as she took it. Her first officer nodded, and Janeway managed to conceal a gasp as she withdrew the contents and saw that she was holding what appeared to be a quadlet of the Third Portal map.

She handed it to Tuvok without a word. The Vulcan examined it closely for a moment and then closed his eyes slowly as his mind quickly flashed back to the Mapkeeper's hut on Abras with its towering skywall. He opened his eyes to look directly at Janeway as he said, "It is genuine."

"Where did you find this?" asked Janeway, directing her question to both brothers.

"A young man approached us with it shortly after we arrived on Sirana" said Dursat. "He told us that if we wished to shorten the journey to our homeworld by passing through the next wormhole, we must contact you. He explained to us that no one could pass safely through the Portal, as he called it, unless they had the entire map assembled up until that point, and that you had recovered the stolen portion from the wreckage of Gunlag's ship."

"And he didn't tell you his name?" asked Janeway.

"No, Captain Janeway," said Dinsar. "He told us that if you questioned us about his identity, we were to say that he wished us to give Seven his regards from Species 2461. We have no idea what he meant by that."

"I think I do," said Chakotay as he reached up to tap his combadge. "Chakotay to Seven of Nine. Please report to the briefing room at once."

"Acknowledged," said Seven. "I am on my way."

Janeway motioned to the table and said, "If you would care to sit, we'll sort all that out when my astrometrics officer arrives. In the meantime, how were you able to travel through the last Portal without being destroyed? We saw you enter it behind the Magol, but found no trace of debris from your ship when the _Herat_ was torn apart by the antimatter lining at the exit aperture of the wormhole."

"I have made a specialty of advanced hull polarizations," said Dinsar, "and was monitoring my readings very closely. Moments after we entered the wormhole, I detected the anomaly with our enhanced sensors."

"Enhanced sensors?" asked Tuvok.

"Yes," replied Dinsar. The other ship allied with us was from a race called the Abuskat. They were sentient androids and possessed highly developed sensors, much more advanced than anything used by either the Magol or Tarkada. When the three of us formed our alliance, we all agreed to share technology among ourselves, although I suspect that Captain Gunlag withheld most of his."

"I was ordered to give you as little information as possible," said a visibly uncomfortable Imot. "Gunlag told me in no uncertain terms that I would be tortured if I gave either you or the Abuskat even the smallest part of our shields or weapons. He forced me to lie and tell both captains that the _Herat's_ weapons and shields were incompatible with their technologies, but that the conflicts could be resolved as we traveled together to intercept _Voyager_. My former captain had no intention of giving you any of our specifications. You and your brother, and indeed your entire crew, have my deepest and most sincere apology for my deceit, Dinsar," said Imot.

"It is no longer of any consequence, Imot," said Dursat. Imot looked surprised.

"There is an axiom among the Tarkada that says 'Fate repays your kindness in equal measure to which you show it,'" said Dinsar. "We are here, and Gunlag is not."

"Indeed," said Tuvok. "A wise axiom. Please continue."

The briefing room door opened to admit Seven of Nine, whose appearance startled the brothers. Chakotay gestured for her to remain quiet and stay near the door for the time being. Dinsar looked at his brother for a moment, and Dursat indicated that he should continue with his explanation.

"As I have said, Captain Janeway, we detected the anomaly waiting for us at the end of the wormhole almost immediately. I polarized our hull and took our vessel slightly out of phase. I then instructed our navigator to cloak us and reverse course, and we were able to exit the wormhole just as it was closing. Fortunately, Jerat is a highly skilled pilot, which allowed us to avoid a collision with your ship as we left. We remained cloaked and at a distance as the wormhole closed, and when we saw you move your ship away from where the entrance had been, we moved closer to your position. When it reopened and your ship entered, we followed very closely behind. We were able to duplicate the frequency you were broadcasting and modify our hull polarization to repel antimatter, and thus passed safely into this space with you, where we remained cloaked as we exited. We then followed you to Sirana, but had no intention of contacting anyone from _Voyager_ until we were approached by the young man who gave us the document you hold in your hands."

"Seven," these two gentlemen brought us this," said Janeway as she motioned the former drone over and handed her the quadlet. She indicated the brothers, saying, "This is Dinsar and Dursat. They were instructed to give you a message." Janeway turned to the brothers and said, "Mr. Dinsar?" as she gestured toward Seven.

"We were told by the one who gave us the document you are holding that if we were questioned by the captain of _Voyager_, we should say that he asked us to give Seven his regards from Species 2461. He would not tell us his name," said Dinsar.

Seven appeared momentarily stunned, then looked over at Tuvok and said, "The boy."

"Icheb?" asked Neelix.

"It would appear so," said Seven. "Species 2461 is designation Brunali." She turned to Dinsar and said, "Describe this individual."

"Tall... thin," said Dinsar. "He had a facial ridge that began at the bridge of his nose and went up into his forehead." He paused to study Seven's optical implant and then said, "He also wore a metal piece on his face as you do. It ran along the side of his nose and partially over one eye."

"That's Icheb, all right," said Chakotay.

Tuvok turned to the Captain and said, "If further proof was required of this quadlet's authenticity, then you have it."

"Captain Janeway," said Dinsar as he took a step forward, "we are in urgent need of your assistance."

Tom Paris, who had been silent up until this point, said, "Didn't I hear you say earlier that you had a long journey home?"

"Officer..." began Dinsar.

"It's Tom Paris, but you can just call me Tom," said Paris.

"As you wish," said Dinsar. "Tom, our vessel was on a long-range interstellar trade mission when it was removed from our region of space."

"Removed?" asked Neelix, a hunch growing in his mind. "What do you mean 'removed'?"

"Yes, 'removed'," said Dinsar. "That is how we would describe it. One moment, we were en route to our next port of call, and the next we found ourselves far removed from our home space. The _Prosperous Journey_ was badly damaged, and we were being detained by a race demanding we turn over our telepaths to them."

"The Devore," said Paris.

"Sounds like it," said Janeway. "What happened next, Mr. Dinsar?"

"Nothing happened, Captain Janeway," said Dinsar, turning to address her. "The Tarkada are not a telepathic race, nor did we have any telepaths aboard, so they let us go. A most unpleasant people, with their constant inspections," he said with a grimace.

"You'll get no argument from us over that, Dinsar," said Chakotay. "We've dealt with them before. They're called the Devore." He glanced at Janeway for a moment and then said, "You've covered a remarkable amount of distance since then."

"Yes, officer Chakotay. We were most fortunate. As it turned out, we were unexpectedly drawn into an anomaly that carried us for a considerable distance in a very short amount of time before the pathway it opened before us ended near a world called Kelsid."

_The Vaaduar_, thought Neelix. _Their underspace corridors_. As the thought flew across the Tasnixia bond, Chakotay turned his head and nodded his understanding at the Talaxian.

Dinsar continued without having noticed the exchange between Neelix and Chakotay. "From there, we made our way to the Port of All Journeys, where we heard tales of a powerful map that could shorten our journey by opening many similar corridors before us."

"Abras," said Chakotay.

"Yes," said Dinsar. "When your ship arrived at Abras, stories began to spread that you were searching for just that very same map. We followed your ship into the first wormhole, and duplicated the frequency you were broadcasting. We were cloaked, so you would not have known we were following you, and thus we evaded the beast at the mouth of the wormhole."

"And how was this removal from your home space accomplished, Mr. Dinsar, if indeed you know," asked Tuvok.

"At first, we could not have told you. Our entire crew was rendered unconscious. It was only after analyzing our sensor readings that we learned that we had been overtaken by an energy wave of unknown origin. When we awoke, we found ourselves where we told you, half a lifetime away from our home," said Dinsar.

"Please, Captain Janeway, you must help us," said Dursat. "There is no other way through what you call the portals except with the map. My captain told us that he would truly understand your reluctance to assist us after our attack on your crewmembers and vessel. We would not ask otherwise, but we are desperate. We are a long-lived people, but this part of space is unknown to us and dangerous to travel alone as just one ship. We seek only to return to our families and the life we left." Dursat bowed his head, overcome by emotion. Dinsar placed his hand on his brother's shoulder to comfort him.

"Forgive my brother, Captain Janeway," said Dinsar, looking over at Janeway. "The separation from his wife and three children has weighed heavily upon him. I ask on behalf of him and all of my shipmates that you open your heart of compassion to us, as you did with Imot, and help us."

"I will consider it, Dinsar," said Janeway. "I'm going to discuss this with my senior officers, and then we will contact your ship and speak to your captain to arrange a meeting," said Janeway. "I can't promise you anything right now, but we can at least hear what your captain has to say."

"Thank you, Captain Janeway. You will find our Captain Helar to be a reasonable man. I sincerely hope that our two peoples can come to an agreement," said Dinsar.

"We'll see," said Janeway. She took the quadlet from Seven and began to hand it back to the Tarkada.

Dursat raised his hand to stop her, and said, "Keep the document for now as a gesture of our good faith until after you have spoken to Captain Helar. Examine it if you wish."

"Thank you, Dursat. We appreciate your gesture of trust," said Janeway. She turned to Neelix and said, "Neelix, please show our guests to the transporter room, and then join us here in the briefing room for a meeting when you're done."

"Will do, Captain," Neelix replied. He left the briefing room with the Tarkada brothers, Imot, and the security detail in tow.

"Chakotay, assemble the rest of the senior staff. There are some things to discuss before we arrange a meeting with this Captain Helar. I'll be in my Ready Room until then."

"Aye, Captain."

--

The Briefing Room, 20 minutes later:

"Are you certain we can trust them?" asked Seven.

"To a certain degree, yes, I am, Seven," said Janeway. "My decision is based largely on Icheb's intervention." She indicated the document on the table and said, "I don't think the Mapkeeper or Mapkeepers would have allowed Icheb to give this quadlet to anyone planning an unethical use for it."

"The Captain is correct," said Tuvok. "The map appears to be telepathically controlled, and given the evident power of beings who can recreate a skywall wherever they wish, it would be a small matter for them to ensure that it reaches us through whatever parties they choose, even a race that would appear to be our sworn enemy."

"We should hear what this Captain Helar has to say for himself," said Paris.

"I'm with Tom on this," said B'Elanna Torres. "The fact that they got through the Second Portal at all and are willing to share their technology could really help us at some point down the road. I'd like to get a look at some of those hull polarizations."

"Chakotay?" asked Janeway.

"Captain, if I may," interrupted Neelix. "If you are worried about being able to trust the the Tarkada, I think you should know that Imot told me that he felt their alliance with Gunlag was one of convenience. Their ship was badly damaged after it came through the First Portal. They were disabled and adrift near the Magol ship, along with the other vessel that joined the alliance. I'm not saying you should trust them entirely, but I think they're sincere when they say they only to want to get home, just like all of you."

"Neelix has a point, Captain," said Chakotay. "It sounds like they were a victim of the Caretaker's search, maybe before he got his displacement wave perfected."

"That's possible," said Harry Kim. "Neelix told us the Caretaker had been bringing ships to the Array for six months before we ended up there. Who knows how long it took him before that to work all the bugs out of his technology? He may not have been able to bring ships all the way to his location at first."

"That's right," said Torres. "The initial calculations for the displacement wave could have been configured incorrectly, and only brought ships partway until he was able to perfect his algorithms."

"Or maybe he brought them the entire distance, tested them while they were still unconscious, and only had the strength to send them partway back. He was dying, after all," said Kim. "We'll probably never know the exactly what happened to them, but their story sounds plausible enough. I believe them."

"There is a way to verify some of what they have told us," said Seven. "If one of their crew was to join me in astrometrics and identify the sector to which their ship was displaced on our star charts, we could easily verify if they were in Devore space. They could also show us where their homeworld is located, which would be an indication of how long they might possibly travel with us, if you were to agree to it."

"Captain, I don't think we have anything to lose by speaking with their captain," said Chakotay. "I tend to agree with what Imot told Neelix about an alliance of convenience. These people hardly seem like the type to willingly align themselves with someone as disreputable as Gunlag. They would have to have been pretty desperate."

"All right," said Janeway. "Tuvok, contact their ship and work out the logistics for a meeting with their captain for tomorrow morning. That should also give you a little time to study this quadlet before the meeting. Whatever you do, don't fuse it with the rest of the map. I'll ask for it, but for now, we need to deal with its possession in an aboveboard manner.

"Very well, Captain," said Tuvok.

"If there's nothing else...," Janeway said. When there were no further comments, she dismissed the meeting.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 5:  
**Tuesday, February 8, 2377  
Stardate 54105.4

The Briefing Room, 1118 hours:

The assembled senior staff was talking among themselves when the briefing room door opened to admit Neelix, Captain Helar, Dinsar, and Dursat.

Janeway rose from her seat and extended her hands, palms up. "Welcome to _Voyager_, Captain Helar."

"I am honored that you greet me according to Tarkadan custom," said Helar as he bowed and placed his palms face down over Janeway's.

"Dursat explained the tradition to me when I greeted him according to my custom," said Janeway. "On my world, we shake hands as a gesture of good faith. May I show you?" she asked as Helar appeared slightly puzzled. Helar nodded and Janeway then demonstrated the handshake.

"The majority of my race is right-handed," said Janeway. We clasp and shake right hands together to indicate that we meet in good faith, without a weapon in our hand." Helar inclined his head. "I must say that I rather like your tradition," she said. "Some of my people are equally adept with a weapon in either hand." Laughter broke out around the table, and Helar smiled.

Neelix, in his capacity as ambassador, rose from his seat and indicated several empty places at the table, saying, "Captain Helar, if you and your officers would like to have a seat, we can get started."

When Helar looked quizzically at Neelix, Janeway explained, saying, "Captain Helar, this is Neelix, my morale officer and ambassador. He was the first one to speak with your men Dinsar and Dursat on Sirana." Helar smiled and nodded at Neelix as he said, "As you wish." They all sat.

"Captain, Dinsar informed us that you are on a long journey home," said Janeway.

"Indeed we are," Helar answered. "It is commonplace that our more profitable trade expeditions occasionally take us several cycles away from Tarkada, but we quite unexpectedly found ourselves at a distance half a lifetime from our home, without knowing how we arrived there."

"Then we have something in common," said Chakotay. "We were also brought a great distance, much farther from our homes than the Tarkada apparently are from theirs. We know the entity that accomplished this as the Caretaker." Helar looked at him, and then back at Janeway.

"My first officer, Commander Chakotay," said Janeway, "and he is correct. We were brought from one side of this galaxy practically to its opposite edge." The spotted markings above Helar's eyes where eyebrows would have been in a human rose in surprise. "When Dinsar explained to us what had happened to your ship, we thought immediately that this was probably what had brought you so far from your home as well. If you would allow us to see your readings from that incident, we could confirm this for you."

"Of course, Captain Janeway," said Helar. "It will be gratifying to finally have an explanation for what visited this calamity upon us. If only we also had the gratification of a swift trip home as well, then the information would be doubly welcome. The hope of at least a shortened journey is why I was so intent on speaking with you. It would be safer for both our vessels if we traveled together, and the Tarkada could offer you technological enhancements that would protect you along the way."

"Such as?" asked Tuvok.

"My tactical and security officer, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok," said Janeway.

"We can offer the sensor upgrades shared with us by the Abuskat, among other things, Officer Tuvok," said Helar. "They are unusually sensitive, and your engineers may be able to adapt them for your technology. They are not radically different from ordinary sensors, except for their range and precision of data gathering. That is what makes them especially valuable."

"Continue," said Tuvok.

"We can also offer our personal stealth cloaks, which are virtually undetectable. They allowed us to follow your landing party in the marketplace on Nardonia. That is how we learned that a portion of the map had been recovered."

"Is this also the means by which a spy was able to board _Voyager_ and move about freely?" asked Tuvok.

Captain Helar looked chagrined until Dursat spoke up, saying, "If I may explain, Captain Helar." The Tarkada captain gestured for him to continue.

"Yes, Officer Tuvok," said Dursat, "it was. We were able to use one of our stealth shuttles to set up an observation post near _Voyager_ when you were in orbit of Nardonia. One of the Magol suggested that the pilot for the alliance landing party transport board your freighter while it was on the surface of the planet and all of you were in the marketplace."

Dursat specifically did not mention Imot by name as having been the one to make the suggestion, since he felt it would accomplish nothing to blacken the name of the former _Herat_ crewmember who had since redeemed himself for his actions.

He continued, saying, "The observer concealed himself once aboard as he awaited an opportunity to get onto _Voyager_. When he had accomplished his information gathering mission, he requested transport back to the observation ship."

"Our shields were raised at the time," said Janeway. "He was still able to transport?"

"Yes. Your shields were weakened by the properties of the unusual space we were all in, so our observer was able to find a weak vector through which to leave your ship."

"Captain Janeway, please understand," said Dinsar, without being prompted. "We felt it necessary at the time to gather as much information about you and the map as possible. Gunlag had presented you to us as a ruthless leader who would stop at nothing to gain the rest of the map, and who would show no regard for anyone who stood in her way. We now know that this is not the truth, but as I said, we felt the necessity of our actions at that time. Please forgive us our foolishness in believing anything Gunlag told us. We were misled." Janeway nodded her understanding.

Captain Helar once more took control of the Tarkada side of the conversation. "We learned to our dismay that Gunlag and his crew had no regard for the rules of civilized behavior when he attacked us and the unfortunate Abuskat vessel that was lost just before the Magol vessel entered the wormhole. It was only then that it became perfectly clear how we had been taken advantage of and badly used."

"I'm surprised that he was able to keep up his charade with you as long as he did," said Janeway. "We didn't have the luxury of that grace period. He blew three ships out of the sky right in front of us when we started for the First Portal, for no reason other than to show us that he had the firepower to do it. His raiding party abducted my first officer while we were still orbiting Abras, and then Gunlag hailed _Voyager_ and forced me and my crew to watch as his men beat Chakotay on their bridge. It was his hope to extort the map from us that way."

"So you understand what he was," said Helar.

"Only too well," said Janeway, "and I am inclined to allow you to join us as we travel toward the Third Portal." She glanced over at Dursat and smiled, and then turned back to Captain Helar as she said, "I wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping Mr. Dursat from his family any longer than necessary."

Helar smiled and said, "I extend my deepest thanks, Captain Janeway, on behalf of all Tarkada on my vessel. My crew accepts that they will occasionally be away from home and kin for extended periods, but several cycles is a vast difference from half a lifetime."

"Believe me, Helar, when I say we understand," said Janeway. "Have you at least been able to communicate with your homeworld?"

"No, Captain. Our communication system doesn't have the capability to reach that far."

"With the captain's permission, we may be able to help you with that," said Harry Kim. Helar turned to him with an amazed expression on his face.

"Ensign Harry Kim, my Operations officer," said Janeway, "and yes, we might be able to do something to help. We are in regular contact with our homeworld."

"How is that possible?" asked Dinsar.

"There's a cyclic pulsar that Starfleet uses to communicate with us, Mr. Dinsar, along with an array that transmits the datastream."

"Starfleet?" asked Helar.

"My ship and most of my crew are part of Starfleet," said Janeway. "It's the deep-space exploratory, scientific, diplomatic, and defensive agency of a large interstellar alliance known as the United Federation of Planets, to which more than 150 member worlds belong. When Headquarters originally thought that my ship was only missing, Starfleet conducted an extensive search for us. _Voyager_ was eventually declared lost with all hands, until our Doctor was able to travel to our homeworld and make a report."

"How did you accomplish that?"

"Our doctor is a hologram," said Janeway, indicating the EMH. "We were able to send him in a datastream through an alien array to a Federation ship, where he communicated with Starfleet Headquarters. Once they knew we were alive, they contacted our families, and then began the Pathfinder Project to find a way to shorten our journey. They never stopped working on a way to communicate with us, and we've received letters from home and regular communiqués with reports and systems upgrade information ever since.

"Amazing," said Helar.

"Excuse me," said the EMH, sticking up his hand. "That wasn't my only trip back to home and hearth, if you will recall."

"This is our Doctor," said Janeway. "When he returned from his last trip to a Federation facility, he brought back specifications for the communications technology Starfleet uses to stay in touch with us."

"Captain," said Torres. "Pathfinder uses the Midas Array to transmit its datastream, but we could probably adapt the specifications to use _Voyager_ as a transceiver, since it would be for a much shorter distance. Then all Seven would have to do is find a convenient cyclic pulsar, which shouldn't be too hard for astrometrics to do. We could then send and receive messages from the Tarkada homeworld."

"My chief engineer, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres," said Janeway. "She would make the necessary modifications to _Voyager's _communications array. We would need to work with one of your pilots to locate your homeworld on our starcharts, and then B'Elanna could go ahead with her modifications. The person you send over would work with my astrometrics officer, Seven of Nine, said Janeway, gesturing to the former drone, who nodded.

"I hardly know how to thank you for such generosity," said Helar. "Permit me to offer you the specifications for our ship's cloak. Perhaps your officer Torres could adapt it for your use as well."

"Captain Helar, the rules of the Federation do not allow me to have a cloak to protect my vessel. We have a treaty with a people called the Romulans that forbids its use. Although we are quite a distance from Federation space, I have insisted that my crew follow its rules. I have a mixed crew, and there would be anarchy without this structure."

"I understand," said Helar. "We too value order. Perhaps the personal stealth cloaks would acceptable instead?"

"That's close to the line, but I think it would pass the review board," said Janeway.

"Captain, what about a cloak for the _Delta Flyer_?" asked Tom Paris. "It's a Starfleet vessel, but hardly an Intrepid or Galaxy class starship."

"My chief helm officer, Lieutenant Tom Paris," said Janeway. "He's quite fond of bending the rules as far as they can go without breaking," she said with a chuckle.

"Don't you mean 'Ensign' Paris?" asked Kim. Laughter erupted around the table.

"Hey... I thought you were my friend," said Paris.

"Actually, Captain," said Tuvok, casting a baleful glare in the direction of the pair, "there is precedent for such an allowance. I call your attention to Deep Space 9 and the _Defiant_. Although we are in no danger of an attack by the Dominion, _Voyager_ may well encounter an equally dangerous adversary. A shuttle with the ability to cloak could prove invaluable for reconnaissance."

"I was wondering just how far over the line you were going to go, Tuvok," said Paris with a self-satisfied smirk.

"That's enough, Tom," said Chakotay.

"I see what you mean, Captain Janeway," said Helar, with a chuckle. "I have one or two on my crew like him who manage to keep life interesting." He smiled and nodded in Paris's direction.

"All right, then. I'll stretch the point to include a cloak for our _Delta Flyer_ shuttle. If you will agree to send someone to work with my astrometrics and engineering officers, we can get started.

Dinsar and Dursat had been quietly whispering together, and Dinsar raised his hand for attention. "Captain Janeway," he began, "with our captain's permission, we would like to volunteer to work with your officer Torres."

"I will do my utmost best to repay your generosity and understanding after our attack on you," said Dursat. "I humbly apologize for the injury I caused to you and your officer Tuvok while I was an ally of the Magol. By all rights, we should be enemies."

"We have a way of making friends out of enemies," said Janeway. "There's an axiom where I come from that says 'desperate people do desperate things.' I'm certain that if you had been given another choice, you would have done things differently. Why don't we let the past be the past, and instead move forward together as allies."

"Permission granted," said Helar. Turning to Janeway, he said, "Captain Janeway, I would like to thank you once again on behalf of myself and my crew for your generosity and good will. If we could conclude this meeting at this time, I will begin making arrangements to send additional crew with the specifications and knowledge you require, and I will be available at your convenience for any further discussion, should you wish it."

Janeway picked up the Third Portal quadlet from where it had been lying on the table in front of her, and handed it back to Helar. She extended her hand, saying, "On my world, we also shake hands to seal an agreement."

Helar took the quadlet, grasped Janeway's hand firmly, and bowed. The meeting broke up with Neelix escorting the Tarkada to the transporter room to return to their ship.

Janeway looked at the remaining senior staff in the briefing room, smiled broadly, and said, "Looks like we have some new friends. There's nothing quite like a first contact done right."


	4. Act 2

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Act****2**

**Third Portal Space, Day 6:  
**Wednesday, February 9, 2377  
Stardate 54108.2

Planetside, at the Festival, 1149 hours:

Samantha Wildman had a hard time keeping up with her daughter Naomi as the child tugged her seemingly in three directions at once. Neelix laughed at the sight and said, "Naomi, your mother's arm is going to be three meters long if you keep pulling on her hand like that."

An immediately contrite Naomi turned to her mother and said, "I'm sorry, Mommy. There's so much to see."

Wildman knelt down on one knee and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "I know, honey, but we don't have to see it all today," she said. "We can come back tomorrow. There's still another day of my shore leave left, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do than to spend it having fun with you."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you, Mommy." With that, Naomi threw her arms around her mother's neck and gave her a hug. Samantha Wildman smiled up at Neelix and winked.

"Can Neelix come too?" asked Naomi.

"I think that's something you have to ask Neelix."

Naomi turned her imploring eyes on Neelix and asked, "Please, Neelix?"

"Well, young lady, I have a lot to do for our party for the nice Siranians who let _Voyager_ land on their planet so we could fix the ship, but I'll tell you what," said Neelix. I'll do a little today and a little tomorrow, and if you can help me a little today, I think it can be arranged."

"How can I help?"

"Well, Naomi, remember the picnic you and your mother had the other day with the Captain and Commander Chakotay?"

"Yes," Naomi answered, drawing out the word.

"The Captain told me that you were worried that there might be some icky food here at the festival, so I was going to ask you to tell me what you think of some of the things I've already picked out for the party. It sounds like a perfect job for the Captain's assistant. We don't want to feed our guests any icky food, now do we? That would look make the Captain look very bad."

Naomi giggled, and then asked, "I don't want the Captain to look bad. Can we go try the food now?"

"It's lunch time, so I think so, if that's all right with your mother." Samantha Wildman nodded, and Neelix continued. "We'll check a few things to see how you like them, and you can pick out which one you want for lunch. Then you can help me with the desserts. Would you like that?"

Naomi nodded solemnly, her eyes big. The trio headed for the food court, where the merchants Neelix had already visited two days before greeted him warmly. Samantha and Naomi Wildman sampled Neelix's choices and made a few new ones when Naomi didn't care for something or said that maybe only the grownups would like it. Neelix went ahead and negotiated for the recipes and ingredients for the additional choices while Naomi debated her selections for lunch.

Once they had finished eating, the three headed for the confectionary stands. Naomi enthusiastically seconded all of Neelix's selections there, picking out a few more for good measure, and then they were done with the errands.

Neelix pulled out a brochure containing a schedule and map of the festival and said, "I see there are places where there are people selling toys and games, books, and... oh, look here, Naomi – there's even a little zoo with animals from all the nearby planets. Now that you've finished helping me with my errands for today, what would you like to do first?"

The little girl thought solemnly for a moment and then said, "Toys first. Then the zoo."

"Toys it is," said Neelix with a wink to her mother as they started off in the direction of the toy merchants.

The three worked their way through the crowds, acquiring a few toys as they went. Samantha looked through the book stalls scattered randomly along their route to the zoo, choosing a few for herself that looked like interesting reading, while Neelix kept an eye on Naomi as she tried out some of the games. They finally arrived at the zoo, which was just as small as described in the festival brochure, but with the most unusual species from the systems near Sirana well represented. The birds in particular were very colorful, and filled the air with their cheerful melodic songs.

"Mommy, I wish I could have one of those," said Naomi, pointing to a large bird with varying shades of blue and purple feathers and a large lavender feathery crest that rose and fell with the bird's movements. "He's so pretty."

"I know, honey, but we really don't have room in our quarters, and I don't think he would be very happy cooped up inside a ship all the time," said Samantha.

"I know," said Naomi. "I just said I wish."

"It's starting to get late," said Samantha. "Are you ready to go back to _Voyager_, Naomi? We can come back tomorrow to see the birds again if you like."

"Okay," said Naomi, and the group turned to start working their way through the crowded zoo and festival back to their beam out point.

Neelix noticed a gnarled old man selling paintings near the entrance to the zoo, and he could have sworn the man wasn't there when they first went in. A painting of what appeared to be the same bird that had so enthralled Naomi caught Neelix's eye, and he walked over to take a closer look. Naomi and Samantha followed.

"Look, Mommy. It's the bird I liked," said Naomi.

"I see."

"How much for the painting?" asked Neelix.

"Ten lekmas," said the artist.

Neelix withdrew a wad of currency he had received earlier in exchange for some trade goods and paid the artist. He took the painting and handed it to Naomi, who was thrilled beyond words.

When she calmed down, Naomi turned to the artist and said, "He's so beautiful. I can almost see him breathing." Samantha and Neelix looked at the painting, and they had to agree with Naomi.

"I'm happy that you like it, young one. He's one of my favorite birds in the zoo." He looked closely at the three, and then addressed Samantha, saying, "I'd like to draw your little girl if I may. It won't take long."

Samantha was about to demur, but Neelix realized that the old man most likely supported himself with his artwork, and that its quality probably brought nowhere near what it was worth. Neelix felt compelled to help him, without knowing why. He knew that if the portrait turned out to be anything close to the painting of the bird, it would be outstanding. He turned to Samantha and said, "We have a little time before we need to be back. Let me do this for you as an early Prixin gift."

Samantha nodded.

"Yes, we'll be happy to have you draw my goddaughter's portrait," said Neelix to the old man. "Where would you like Naomi to sit?"

The old man unfolded a small chair, and Naomi promptly sat down and made herself comfortable. The artist pulled out a sheet of white plastic-like material from a nearby bag and set it on an easel that he pulled over from behind him. The old man picked up a small case of colored pencils and selected several. He worked in silence, and true to his word, in twenty minutes, he had completed the portrait. He turned the easel so that Samantha could see the drawing, and her breath caught in her throat at the stunning likeness of Naomi. Again, it was as if she could see the subject of the portrait breathing.

"This is incredible work," said Samantha. "I can't thank you enough." She paused for a moment and then said, "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"It's Jeshun," said the old man. He took the painting from the easel and handed it to Samantha Wildman.

"Jeshun, what do I owe you?" asked Neelix, having withdrawn a wad of currency from his pocket.

"You don't," said Jeshun. "It's a gift. May it bring you happiness and good fortune."

Neelix knew better than to insult Jeshun by insisting on paying for the portrait, so he pulled several ten lekma notes from the wad in his hand and said, "Yesterday, my shipmates and I made some new friends who told us that 'Fate repays your kindness in equal measure to which you show it.'" He placed the money in Jeshun's hand and closed the old man's fingers around it. "There must be something special you would like for yourself."

The old man nodded, too overcome for words. On an impulse, Naomi threw her arms around Jeshun's neck and hugged him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Jeshun smiled and said, "That is worth far more to me than the price of a painting." He clasped his hands in front of him and made a small bow. "Go in safety and good fortune."

"Thank you once again," said Samantha Wildman, imitating Jeshun's bow. And with that, the three took their leave and went on their way to return to _Voyager_.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 7:  
**Thursday, February 10, 2377  
Stardate 54111.2

Ready Room, 1407 hours:

When the ready room door chimed, Janeway was immersed in an engineering report that detailed the modifications to the _Delta Flyer_ that were being made for it to accommodate the Tarkada stealth cloaking technology.

"Come."

She looked up as Neelix entered the room with Jerat, who was carrying a pouch slung over one shoulder.

"Captain, this is Jerat," said Neelix. "He's Captain Helar's chief pilot, and is here to work with Seven to locate his homeworld on our star charts."

"Right on schedule." Janeway stood and greeted Jerat with extended hands, palms up, which delighted the pilot.

"I see you have learned our manner of greeting, Captain Janeway," said a smiling Jerat as he placed his palms over hers.

"Dursat taught me its meaning, and I must say I've grown quite fond of it," she said. "He and his brother have been making good progress helping my engineering department to adapt your stealth technology for our _Delta Flyer_ shuttle."

"Captain Helar is gratified that you chose to accept the offer of our stealth cloak. One can only hope that there will never be a situation so dire that requires you to use it, but I must say from my own experience that it has made a difference for us on many an occasion," said Jerat.

"I agree with you in hoping that there will never be an incident where our lives depend upon it, but one thing I've learned here in the Delta Quadrant is that you can never expect a routine journey for very long."

"Delta Quadrant?" asked Jerat.

"My astrometrics officer will explain to you what we mean by that. Essentially, it's the way we categorize the part of the galaxy we're in. Neelix, you'll be sure to accompany Mr. Jerat to astrometrics and introduce him to Seven?"

"Of course, Captain. You know you can depend on me, but before we go, Jerat has something for you," said Neelix, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Oh?" Janeway was intrigued.

"Captain Helar would have presented this to you personally, but he is busy assisting in the upgrades your engineering officers have been performing on our ship's communications array," said Jerat. "He asks for your understanding."

"Of course. I've been known to do the same on occasion," said Janeway.

Jerat reached into his pouch and withdrew the envelope containing the quadlet of the Third Portal map.

"Please accept this on behalf of Captain Helar and his crew, Captain Janeway," he said. "You have been most generous to us."

"Thank you, Jerat," Janeway said. "It's our way of being helpful to our allies."

"Quite unlike Gunlag," he said.

"Yes," said Janeway. "We've met quite a number of difficult people during our journey toward home, but he was definitely in a class by himself."

The three shared a laugh, and then Neelix and Jerat left the ready room to go on their way to astrometrics.

"Janeway to Tuvok. Please report to my ready room."

"Acknowledged."

A few moments later, the ready room door chimed, and Janeway called out for Tuvok to enter. As he walked over to stand before her desk, his eyes fell on the quadlet resting on top of its envelope, next to the Captain's monitor.

"A gift from Captain Helar," said Janeway, as she picked up the quadlet and handed it to Tuvok, "in appreciation for our generosity, so the person who brought it to me said."

"The gift itself is generous," said Tuvok.

"Yes. I wasn't sure how I was going to approach Helar with the topic of our getting the quadlet back. Since it would fuse itself to the rest of the map, it's not as if we'd be able to return it if they asked us to, but this has solved that dilemma."

"Rather elegantly, I would say. With your permission, Captain, I would like to return to my quarters to resume meditation over the map," said Tuvok. The fused portion we have amassed thus far is still inert, and no doubt will remain so until this new quadlet is integrated into it."

"Call someone to take your shifts until further notice, Tuvok, and then you are dismissed." Tuvok nodded and left the Ready Room.

"Janeway to Kim."

Kim here."

"Harry, hail the Tarkada vessel and get Captain Helar on the com. Patch it through to me when you have him."

"Aye, Captain."

Janeway closed the connection and resumed studying her report. A few minutes later, her monitor beeped. She activated the connection and Kim's face appeared.

"Patching Captain Helar through now," said Kim.

"Thanks, Harry."

Helar appeared on the monitor, his face streaked with grease. "Captain Janeway, please forgive my appearance," he said. "I have been assisting my crew with the modification of my ship's communications array."

"No need to apologize," said Janeway. "I see I'm not the only captain who likes to get their hands dirty from time to time."

Helar chuckled. "No, Captain Janeway, you are not. There is a satisfaction to be derived from seeing the concrete results from the work of one's own hands, but I think you already understand that. What may I do for you?"

"Please accept my personal thanks for the portion of the map your pilot brought to me," said Janeway. "I wasn't quite sure how I was going to approach you about it, since the quadlet would have integrated itself into the portion of the map we already have, and could not have been returned."

"You are quite welcome, Captain Janeway," said Helar. "The young man who approached my officers assured them that you would use it wisely and would honor your agreement with us. He was certain that you would grant our request to journey together through the next wormhole with _Voyager_, and that you would be an honorable ally to the Tarkada. There seemed to be no doubt whatsoever in his mind that you would be receptive to such an arrangement."

"That young man's name is Icheb, said Janeway, "and he was a member of my crew. He left _Voyager_ to apprentice himself to one of the guardians of the map, and we've missed him terribly ever since, especially my head of astrometrics. Once I learned that your officers had contacted a member of my crew based on Icheb's recommendation, I realized there was a logic and purpose at work here, and that I could trust you."

"He must be a remarkable young man to inspire your confidence in his judgment," said the Tarkada captain.

"He is, Helar. We were all very sorry to see him go, but realized that he needed to follow his own path. If I should ever see him again, I'll be sure to thank him for sending you to us. I may have had reservations about using your stealth technology on the _Delta Flyer_, but I've had time to think it over and discuss it further with my chief of security. I think that between our two ships, we should be able to meet any challenge along the way."

"Your Icheb said much the same thing to Dinsar and Dursat."

"Then that makes me more confident about the long journey ahead of us," said Janeway. "_Voyager_ has eleven more Portals to pass though before we reach our home. It reassures me that we will have you and your crew as traveling companions for at least as long as it takes to reach Tarkada."

"It reassures me as well," said Helar. "Captain Janeway, if you will excuse me, I must return to assisting my crew with the upgrades your engineers have been showing them. It is most generous of you to lend your officer Torres to help us."

"B'Elanna has a way of finding ingenious solutions that are outside of Starfleet's parameters. She's saved our collective hides on more occasions than I can count," said Janeway. "While I'm not allowed by Federation rules to share our technology, there's nothing that says I can't help a friend."

Helar smiled and nodded, and with that, Janeway closed the connection so that they both could get back to work.

--

Astrometrics, late Alpha shift:

"Beta Quadrant?" said Jerat, with a puzzled expression on his face as he looked at a schematic of the Milky Way galaxy on the astrometrics dome.

"Starfleet astronomers divide this galaxy into four segments called quadrants," said Seven of Nine. "They find it easier to classify the vast amount of data they have collected by using this system."

"And yet you've never heard of our world?"

"No. The Beta Quadrant is largely unexplored, except for that portion that is closest to the Federation. That quadrant is also home to three powerful races whose territory is located alongside Federation space and stretches for many parsecs. _Voyager_ will be crossing through sectors unclaimed by any of these superpowers, and will be the first official Starfleet vessel to gather data about them."

And the other quadrants are..."

"Alpha, Gamma, and Delta," said Seven, highlighting each quadrant on the schematic in turn as she listed them. "Most of the 'Voyagers,' as you call them, come from the Alpha Quadrant, except for a few, such as Lieutenant Tuvok, who is from the Beta Quadrant. Neelix is the only one aboard _Voyager_ who is from the Delta Quadrant."

"Which we are in," said Jerat.

"Correct. Except for unmanned probes, it too has been largely unexplored until _Voyager_ was displaced to its far reaches by the Caretaker."

"Then the Voyagers will be the first living beings from the Alpha Quadrant, as you call it, to explore this quadrant of the galaxy."

"Incorrect," said Seven. "My parents and I were the first living beings from the Alpha Quadrant to explore the Delta Quadrant. More accurately, I was only a child and thus too young to explore, but my parents made an extensive study of the Borg. This quadrant is their home space. That is partially the reason it has remained unexplored."

"A race to be feared and avoided, so I have been told," said Jerat. "The Tarkada have never encountered them."

"Then your people have been most fortunate," said Seven. "The Borg are relentless, taking whatever technology and knowledge they wish to possess without the least regard for those to whom it belongs. They are a cybernetic race that assimilates other species for their Collective so they can turn them into automatons to populate and run their hive ships."

Jerat shivered at the thought. He remembered the purpose of his visit to _Voyager's_ astrometrics lab, and hoping to change the subject, he asked, "Have you received messages over your datastream from your parents?"

"No. All three of us were assimilated by the Borg. Captain Janeway freed me from the Collective, but all I have of my parents are their logs," said a visibly uncomfortable Seven.

"Forgive me, officer Seven. I apologize for my inquisitiveness," said Jerat. "I did not mean to cause you distress."

"Your apology is accepted. If you wish, I will tell you more about the Borg, but that is a story for another time."

"I welcome your offer of more information. Perhaps the Tarkada will continue remain untouched by the Borg if we make ourselves more aware of their methods of operation."

"A wise course of endeavor," said Seven. She refocused the star chart on the dome to show Devore space and the surrounding sectors, and then asked, "Do any of these phenomena look familiar to you?"

Jerat studied the star chart and pointed out a large Mutara-class nebula with a class 3 nebula further along the route toward the Beta Quadrant. "There," he said. "Roughly 15 of your light years above that large nebula. Our ship triggered some kind of automated perimeter alarm, and just as we awoke from unconsciousness, we found the _Prosperous Journey_ being boarded by a militaristic people demanding we turn over our telepaths. We were subjected to regular inspections until we left their space."

"They are known as the Devore," said Seven. "We encountered their inspection teams as well. Before we entered their space, Captain Janeway agreed to bring a small group of telepaths aboard _Voyager_ to ferry them to safety. That humanitarian mission succeeded. We used our transporter to hide them and the few of _Voyager's_ own telepaths from the Devore inspections."

Jerat's face showed his amazement.

Seven smirked slightly and said, "Voyager's chief engineer, Lieutenant Torres, used what she refers to as 'Maquis ingenuity.'"

"Maquis?"

"The Maquis were a group of freedom fighters in the Alpha Quadrant. _Voyager_ has a mixed crew. The majority of them are Starfleet, with twenty some odd former Maquis members, and five crewmen from another ship that was also brought to this quadrant by the Caretaker. That again is a story for another time, but if you are interested, Commander Chakotay could give you full details regarding the Maquis, as he was the leader of the cell members that now are part of _Voyager's_ crew. They too were displaced to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker against their will."

"I will ask your officer Chakotay about these Maquis," said Jerat. "The longer I am aboard your ship, Officer Seven, the more I learn that is of considerable interest regarding _Voyager_ and its captain and crew. There is much more to pique my curiosity than I expected, given what Gunlag led my captain and shipmates to believe."

"Gunlag had an agenda that did not include _Voyager_ or your people," said Seven.

"That is the very truth, spoken aloud," said Jerat.

Seven entered a few commands to bring up a starchart of the known portion of Beta Quadrant so they could begin their search for Jerat's homeworld.

--

Tuvok's quarters, evening:

If Vulcans were of a nature to admit to frustration, Tuvok would have been feeling an extreme version of that emotion as he sat on the floor in his quarters, attempting to meditate successfully over the Third Portal quadlet. He sensed his contemplative and telepathic energies blocked at every attempt to discern new information from the quadlet the Tarkada Captain, Helar, had given to Captain Janeway.

For some reason which Tuvok had yet to determine, the Third Portal quadlet stubbornly refused to merge with the rest of the map. He laid it over the rectangular map in the only two directions it would logically fit, turned it over and tried both directions again, scanned it with his tricorder in an attempt to locate a beacon frequency, and failing all that, tried meditating over the Third Portal quadlet alone.

Finally, Tuvok placed the fused map and quadlet to either side of himself for a few minutes, out of the range of his peripheral vision. He closed his eyes and focused on clearing his mind for yet another attempt. Tuvok then began a series of specific breathing exercises intended to deepen his concentration and shut out his surroundings. After a short time, he found himself in a place of white light that gradually shifted color to purple. He sank deeper into the purple, opening his mind until he was startled out of his meditation by a sudden mental flashback of Horus's skywall.

He opened his eyes to find that he had unconsciously placed his hands to either side of himself, one on the fused map and the other on the new quadlet. Tuvok picked up his tricorder and first scanned the fused map, only to learn that the Second Portal beacon frequency was unchanged. He then turned to the Third Portal quadlet and found that there was a barely discernable energy reading, and that a faint pattern had emerged in a transparent portion of the quadlet that did not overlay corresponding clear or indistinct sections that had been located within the fused map in the past.

"Computer, locate Captain Janeway," said Tuvok.

"Captain Janeway is in the ready room."

With that, he picked up the Third Portal quadlet of the map and his tricorder, extinguished his meditation candles, and left his quarters for the ready room to make his report to the Captain.

--

The ready room, a few minutes later:

Janeway was deeply immersed in working out the protocol and final details for hosting the following day's reception for their Siranian guests when the door chime broke her concentration.

"Come in," she said, grateful for the break from the stack of padds on her desk.

Tuvok walked into the ready room carrying the Third Portal quadlet. His face wore a barely discernable expression, which long acquaintance with the Vulcan had taught Janeway to understand that her Tactical officer was deeply frustrated. Not that he would admit it, of course.

"Progress?" she asked.

"Glacial, if indeed one can say there has been any at all," said Tuvok, handing the quadlet to the Captain.

Janeway studied the piece of plastic, not really seeing much of anything different from when she had first laid eyes on it except for the barely visible markings in the clear portion of the quadlet that Tuvok had also noticed after his momentary flashback to the Mapkeeper's skywall. The quadlet still looked like a child's painting experiment.

"What am I looking for, Tuvok?" she asked. "I see a faint pattern where I don't remember having seen anything else before, if I recall correctly, but it's barely there. Anything else I should be seeing?"

"You are correct about the pattern. It emerged toward the end of my meditation," said Tuvok. "There is also a very faint electromagnetic signature where there was none previously."

"The Third Portal beacon frequency?"

"It is impossible to say," he said. It appears to be a mixture of frequencies, when it is possible to even record it at all. The signal is weak to begin with, and its strength fluctuates in no discernable pattern."

Tuvok scanned the quadlet with his tricorder to show Janeway the faint signal, and she watched as the fluctuating readings faded in and out. The faint air of exasperation surrounding Tuvok seemed to deepen.

"I see what you mean," said Janeway. "Why do I get the impression that this was a difficult meditation?" She looked up at him with an amused smile on her face.

"Your perception is correct. At no time did the quadlet attempt to fuse itself to the rest of the map in the manner to which we have become accustomed. I exhausted all logical possibilities in positioning the quadlet over the portion we already possess. It is only when I attempted mental preparation for an especially deep meditation that the pattern and signal emerged. Even then, both are barely discernable, as you can readily see for yourself."

"What do you think the pattern represents?"

"Logic would suggest that it is the embryonic beginnings of a star chart," said Tuvok. "The stellar navigation information leading to additional quadlets, and indeed the Portal itself, has always emerged from the indistinct or clear portions of the quadlet once it has merged with the fused quadlets gathered to date."

"And yet this quadlet didn't merge," said Janeway. "Tuvok, you did tell me that we shouldn't expect things to always function the same way throughout the process of putting the rest of the map together."

"Indeed I did, Captain, but I find myself stymied as to a proper course along which to proceed. I did not locate an encrypted file in the quadlet, nor does the rudimentary information that did emerge appear to of any practical use at this time."

"Well, you suggested that the faint pattern might be the beginnings of a star chart, so maybe astrometrics is where we need to start breaking the impasse."

"Agreed," said Tuvok.

Janeway rose from her desk and said, "Let's go pay Seven a visit." With that, the two left the ready room and headed for deck 8.

--

Astrometrics, a few minutes later.

Just as Seven was about to refocus the star charts on the dome to further narrow the search to the sectors most likely to show Jerat's homeworld, the astrometrics lab doors opened. Janeway entered the room with Tuvok, who had the Third Portal quadlet with him. They were both curious to see if the faint markings might possibly match any constellations in Seven's data for their upcoming course through uncharted territory in the Beta Quadrant.

Seven glanced over her shoulder and said, "We have found the location to which Mr. Jerat's ship was brought by the Caretaker. The Tarkada vessel had the good fortune to end up near the Devore sensor array that we passed through nearly two years ago," she said with a barely discernable smirk.

"I'd say that depends on your idea of good fortune," said Janeway. "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Jerat?"

"I would, indeed, Captain Janeway," he answered with a smile and a nod.

"We were about to conduct a search for Mr. Jerat's homeworld," said Seven. "It appears to reside well beyond the Romulan Star Empire and the Veridian system."

"That's pretty far out into uncharted territory. The Nexus passed through that region in 2371," said Janeway.

"Then those sectors should be safe to traverse for the foreseeable future," said Tuvok. "The Nexus is not due near Veridian again until 2410 or so." He balanced the Third Portal quadlet on Seven's console and compared the clear area with faint data against Seven's search on the dome as she worked through the sectors Jerat had suggested. Janeway stood next to Tuvok and made the identical comparison, serving as a second set of eyes.

The four worked in relative silence, except for Seven's occasional questions to Jerat asking him to identify any familiar stellar landmarks. Their concentration was interrupted by the sound of the lab doors opening again.

Seven looked over her shoulder and saw that Naomi Wildman had entered astrometrics. She carried the artwork she had brought back from the previous day's festival.

"Naomi Wildman," said Seven. "I am on duty and cannot spend time with you at this moment."

"That's okay, Seven," said Naomi as she came up beside the former drone and watched what she was doing. "I came to see the Captain anyway. The computer told me she was off duty."

"She is busy, and..."

"It's all right, Seven," said Janeway. "Technically, I am off duty." Janeway turned to Naomi and said, "A captain's work is never done, Naomi, even if she is off duty. You need to remember that for when you're captain."

"I will," answered the child. "Do you want me to come back later?"

"You can stay if you think you'd be interested in what we're doing," said Janeway. "Seven is searching for Mr. Jerat's home planet, and Tuvok is comparing that to what looks like constellations on the piece of the map Mr. Jerat's captain gave us. I was helping Tuvok look, but my eyes need a little rest. What does my captain's assistant have to show me?

Naomi's bright smile lit up her face as she said, "My Mom said that you'd probably like to see my pictures I got at the festival yesterday. She said they almost look like they're breathing."

"Really!" said Janeway. "May I see?"

"Of course, Captain." A very serious Naomi handed Janeway the portrait Jeshun had drawn of her, and Janeway looked in amazement at the likeness.

"Your mother is right, Naomi. It does look like you're breathing. The artist is very talented to be able to capture your likeness so well," said Janeway. "Who drew this for you?"

"He told my Mom his name was Jeshun," said Naomi. "He was really old, Captain, and all bent over. Neelix told me that he probably did paintings to pay for food and a room for himself. He gave us the drawing for free when he finished it."

"He did?"

"Neelix gave him some money anyway, and said that he should get himself something special. When we were walking to come back to the ship, Neelix said that Jeshun probably didn't always get as much money as he should for his paintings, and he just felt he wanted to help."

"That was very kind of Neelix," said Janeway.

"He told Jeshun that we'd made some new friends that told us that if we were kind to people, they would be kind right back."

Jerat had been enjoying listening to Janeway's conversation with Naomi. When he overheard the paraphrase of the old familiar Tarkadan axiom he'd learned as a child, he looked over at Naomi and said, "That is true, child. I learned that from my mother, and she spoke the truth out loud for all my brothers and sisters to hear."

"Naomi," said Janeway, "this is one of our new friends that Neelix told the man who drew your picture about. His name is Jerat." She turned to the Tarkada pilot and said, "Jerat, this is _Voyager's_ youngest crewmember, and my captain's assistant, Naomi Wildman."

Naomi swelled with pride at being introduced as the captain's assistant, and then stared at Jerat, then back at her painting of the bird from the zoo, and then at Jerat again. She shyly extended her hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Jerat."

He took her hand and shook it. Naomi looked surprised and said with a big smile, "You know about shaking hands."

"Yes, I do," answered Jerat. "Your captain showed some of my friends from my ship, and they showed me. May I show you how we greet new friends?"

Naomi nodded.

"Hold out your palms like this," said Jerat, demonstrating the Tarkada palms up gesture of greeting.

Naomi looked a bit disconcerted at having only one hand free, but Janeway said, "I'll hold your picture for you, Naomi, while Mr. Jerat shows you how his people say hello."

Naomi smiled, handed the painting of the bird over to Janeway, and then walked over to Jerat with her palms up. The Captain set the portrait down on the console next to the quadlet while she held onto the other and watched with a smile as Jerat demonstrated the Tarkadan custom for Naomi.

"Captain."

The urgent tone of Tuvok's voice caught Janeway's attention immediately. "What is it, Tuvok?"

The Vulcan quietly gestured toward the portrait and Janeway was startled to see it slowly morphing into something else. Naomi and Jerat saw Tuvok pull out a tricorder and begin to scan, and sensed immediately that something unusual was happening. They came over to stand next to the Captain, who was reading the data that streamed across the tricorder's display. The change occurring before their very eyes startled them as well. The white plastic-like material on which the portrait had been painted was slowly becoming translucent. The image upon it blurred as they watched, with the colors swirling together as the portrait continued to transform itself into what appeared to be a map quadlet.

A wide-eyed Naomi pressed up against Janeway, who pulled her closer and put an arm around her to reassure the child that she was safe. "Captain, what's happening to my picture?"

"We're not sure yet, sweetheart, but it looks like Jeshun secretly gave you a piece of the map for us. Your picture began to change when I put it next to the new piece of the map we already have. We'll know for sure when it finishes what it's doing." Naomi nodded, too fascinated by what was happening to her portrait to be upset by its loss.

Finally, the process appeared to be complete. The plastic was now an abstract mishmash of colors, with streaks and blobs where there had been a lifelike portrait of Naomi Wildman only minutes before. Acting on a "hunch," Tuvok placed the transformed portrait closer to the quadlet Captain Helar had given Janeway, and when nothing happened, he flipped the rectangular piece of plastic the other way and placed it back next to the quadlet. As the five of them watched, the two translucent pieces drew closer. The former portrait slid over the quadlet by means of an unseen force and began to fuse itself to it.

Once the fusion process was complete, the quadlets began to transform once more. The colors swirled together and darkened. Points of brightness that were obviously constellations began to emerge. Where there had been faint markings in the transparent section of the first quadlet of the Third Portal map, a glowing point of light emerged. The indistinct markings took on greater definition as the transparent portion grew slightly smaller.

Jerat peered intently at this portion of the fused quadlets for a few moments and then gasped. "By the great goddess Arkad and her five daughters! That glowing point of light is my home. That is Tarkada."

"Are you certain?" asked Seven.

"Indeed I am. I recognize those star patterns from the skies surrounding my home. They are incomplete, but I recognize them."

"Do you see any other constellations that you recognize?" asked Janeway.

"No, Captain Janeway," said Jerat. "The rest of the map is unfamiliar to me. Our own star charts only document the regions to which we've traveled, and little beyond."

"Perhaps more will be revealed as we complete this portion of the map," said Seven. "There are still two more quadlets to be located before we can pass through the Third Portal."

"Logically, I must conclude that your homeworld lies beyond the region covered by this portion of the map, Mr. Jerat," said Tuvok. "Otherwise, there would be a course indicated that would include Tarkada as we travel toward the Third Portal."

"Tuvok, I suspect that you may be correct," said Janeway, "but you've not yet added these quadlets to the map portion in your quarters. The end result might be quite different."

"Captain, I request permission to return to my quarters to resume my meditation and determine whether that is the case."

"Agreed. You're dismissed, Tuvok," said Janeway. "Keep me apprised of your progress."

"Acknowledged." With that, Tuvok picked up the fused quadlets and left astrometrics to return to his meditation.

"Wth respect, Captain Janeway, I must leave as well and report my progress to Captain Helar," said Jerat. "Perhaps it would be best to resume searching your star maps for my home when officer Tuvok has finished his study of the new map pieces."

"Of course, Mr. Jerat," said Janeway. "I was about to suggest the same thing. Give me a moment to call Neelix to show you to the transporter room." Janeway commed the Talaxian, who acknowledged her and left his kitchen to meet them in astrometrics.

Janeway turned back to Jerat to continue the conversation. "The information in our databanks for the Beta Quadrant is not as complete as that which would be found in the map. The people who scattered the pieces of it started from my homeworld, Earth, and traveled to Abras, which you know as the 'Port of All Journeys'. From what we've seen so far, they documented the skies along their route quite thoroughly. I suspect that as we gather more pieces, we'll learn exactly where to find Tarkada."

"May it be so," said Jerat. He bowed slightly and extended his hands, palms down.

Naomi, who had been largely silent during all the excitement said, "Now you're saying goodbye?"

Jerat laughed and said, "Yes, I am, young one. Come say goodbye to me, Naomi."

Naomi smiled and rushed over to Jerat to put her palms up against his. They bowed to one another, and a slight giggle escaped from Naomi, which made Janeway smile.

The Captain extended her hands to him, palms down, and said, "I hope to have more results for you soon, Mr. Jerat." As she said this, the doors opened to admit Neelix.

"As do I," said Jerat. He nodded at Seven, who returned his nod, and left with Neelix to return to the _Prosperous Journey_.

Janeway glanced briefly at Naomi's picture of the bird in the zoo, and handed it back to her. "Naomi, I'm very sorry that you lost your drawing," she said. "I guess Jeshun wanted to make sure that no one knew he was giving you a piece of the map."

"It's okay, Captain. When we got back from the festival yesterday, my Mom had Vorik make a scan of it for her so we could send a picture of it to my Dad in the next datastream. At least he'll get to see it, too."

"Naomi Wildman," said Seven.

"Yes, Seven?" Naomi answered, a puzzled expression on her face.

"My duty shift will be complete in a few minutes. I will make a duplicate picture for you and your mother from Vorik's scan if you wish."

"Really, Seven?"

"Really."

"Well, I'll leave you two to it, then," said Janeway. "I have reports piled up, just waiting for me to read them."

"A captain's work is never done, even when she's off duty?" asked Naomi.

"Very good, crewman Wildman." Janeway extended her hands, palms down, which got another giggle from Naomi. She slipped her palms under Janeway's, bowed slightly, and then turned to rejoin Seven at the console. Janeway stood looking at the two of them for a moment, and then left astrometrics with a smile on her face.

--

The Ready Room, several minutes later:

Janeway sat down at her desk with a sigh as she glanced at the stacks of padds still to be gone through. Deciding to delay that task for a few minutes, she raised her voice and said, "Janeway to Ops."

"Ops here, Rollins speaking."

"Mr. Rollins, get Captain Helar on the com, and patch it through to my ready room when you have him."

"Aye, Captain."

A few minutes later, Janeway's terminal beeped. She activated the screen and Helar's face appeared. He was clearly overjoyed at something, and motioned to someone standing out of visual range.

"Captain Janeway, my chief pilot has just been telling me how Tarkada appeared on your map," said Helar.

"Good news travels fast, I see," said Janeway with a smile. "Yes, actually, Jerat was the one who identified it for us. There's only very rudimentary information as of yet, but we have more sections of the map to collect before we can go through the Third Portal. Tuvok is studying the map for further information as we speak."

"Jerat tells me that your officer Tuvok thought that our homeworld might lie beyond this next wormhole."

"That's entirely possible, but we don't know anything for certain yet," said Janeway. "If that turns out to be the case, then you are more than welcome to travel with us for as long as it takes to reach Tarkada."

"Thank you, Captain Janeway. That is gracious of you," Helar said with a slight bow of his head.

"You're quite welcome," said Janeway. "Helar, I asked my duty officer to contact you so I could invite you and any of your crew who might be interested to a reception we are hosting for the Siranian governmental officials tomorrow evening. They graciously allowed us to land _Voyager_ so that we could make repairs, and expressed an interest in seeing the ship. Since our own two vessels will be traveling together for a while, I thought the reception might give our two crews a chance to get to know one another a little better as well."

"That is an excellent idea, Captain Janeway. I myself will attend, of course," Helar said, and then glanced away for a moment, "and I see that Jerat wishes to be included also. I will extend your invitation to the rest of my crew."

"Is there someone I can have Neelix contact this evening for the specifics of any special dietary requirements your crew may have?" asked Janeway.

"Yes. My officer Darkat is in charge of the crew's meals. I will see to it that he contacts your officer Neelix to make arrangements."

"All right, Helar. I will let Neelix know to expect a com call from him. Neelix will give Darkat all of the particulars of the reception. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow evening."

"As do I, Captain Janeway," said Helar. Until then." Janeway nodded and closed the channel.

"Janeway to Neelix. Please report to the ready room."

"On my way, Captain." Janeway could hear the sound of clattering pots and pans in Neelix's kitchen before the channel closed. She smiled and thought about what an unlikely candidate for ambassador he had been at first, but she was grateful that things had worked out so well in the end. She knew that first contacts would be much more difficult if he wasn't around.

_I'm so glad now that I let him and Kes join us back at the beginning,_ she thought, _though at the time I really had my moments of doubt, especially when he tried to fob off that 'better than coffee' substitute on me. _She chuckled at the memory. _Neelix certainly knows how to ingratiate himself with people. He's become virtually indispensable._

Her ruminations were interrupted by the chime of the ready room door. "Come in."

Neelix bustled into the room carrying a tray with a pot of something unknown that Janeway thought smelled wonderful, an empty mug, and several small plates filled with assorted canapés.

"It's late, Captain," he said. "I thought you might like to sample tomorrow night's fare instead of having to come to the mess hall for a belated supper. I have a few Siranian delicacies, and some of our more usual offerings."

"Thank you, Neelix. As you can see, I'm buried in work," she said. "I was just about to get something from the replicator instead going to the messhall, but I like your solution much better. What's in the pot?"

"The Siranians call it lastrin," said Neelix. "It's brewed from ground up dried berries of the lastria bush. It's very popular on the planet – I'd say something on the order of a national drink." He filled the mug for Janeway.

"Okay, I'll bite," said Janeway as she picked up the mug and took a tentative sip. A surprised expression crossed her face, followed by a much larger sip and a look of deep satisfaction sent in Neelix's direction.

"I thought you would like it, Captain, said Neelix with a big smile, "and before you even ask, I was able to secure several bushes, and they're already set up in Hydroponics. I laid in enough of the ground berries to last you long past the time the bushes start producing a new crop. I've labeled them 'Captain's Private Reserve.'"

That got a hearty laugh from Janeway. "Neelix, this is the best coffee substitute you've found yet. You deserve a medal."

"Thank you Captain. All in a day's work, you know."

"I know, Neelix. I called you here to tell you something, but after this," she said, raising the mug with a smile, "I'm a little hesitant."

"What is it, Captain?" Neelix asked.

"A little while ago, I invited Captain Helar and his crew for tomorrow's reception. I don't know what kind of strain that puts on your preparations. I should have run it past you earlier as a courtesy before I invited them."

"Not to worry, Captain. Naomi wanted to spend two days on the planet visiting their zoo, so I divided my prep work between yesterday and today. I'm pretty much done. Everything's in stasis, just waiting for the final touches a few hours before the reception. If you can assign a few people to help me, I can go back down to the planet early tomorrow morning for additional supplies."

"All right, Neelix, take whomever you need. Captain Helar's cook is named Darkat, and he'll be contacting you tonight to discuss any special dietary needs the Tarkada might have."

"I'll expect his call, then."

"There's something else I need you to do as well," said Janeway. "I'm sure I don't have to impress upon you how important it is that we keep to ourselves the fact that we have the map. The Siranians themselves are very friendly, but we really don't know the political situation on the planet very well, and with so many visitors for the festival, I don't want that information to get around."

"Of course. What can I do to help?"

"I need you to relay my concerns about the map information to Darkat when you speak to him tonight. Ask him to convey that message to his crewmates who will be coming to the reception. I'm finishing up drafting a message for him with the details and protocol for tomorrow, and I'll send a copy to your terminal when I'm done. I need you to go over them with Darkat. I'll send a copy to Captain Helar as well, and ask that he reinforce my request that his crew not discuss the map."

"That's a very wise precaution, Captain. Jerat was almost beside himself with excitement when I was taking him to the transporter room. I imagine they all are by now, considering we've taken the first steps to locating a course back to their homeworld for them."

I think you're right, Neelix," said Janeway. "If Captain Helar and I can keep the loose talk under control, it will go much easier for us once we're out in open space."

"I'll do my best, Captain," said Neelix. "Assuming I can get the food supplies from the planet squared away early enough in the morning, I could leave the additional prep work to Chell, and beam over to the Tarkada ship after tomorrow's briefing. If I can spend a few hours over there smoothing the way, I think that might do the trick."

"Good idea, Neelix. I'll contact Helar before the briefing and run it past him. I think he'll see the wisdom of it."

"All right," said Neelix. He paused for a moment to see if Janeway had any more instructions, and when none were forthcoming, he said, "Well, I'll let you get back to your work, Captain," said Neelix. "I'm glad you liked what I brought you."

"You've outdone yourself this time, Neelix. I don't know what we'd do without you," said Janeway with a smile as she raised her cup of lastrin to him.

Neelix nodded happily and left the ready room.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 8  
**Friday, February 11, 2377  
Stardate 54113.4

Ready room, 0923 hours:

"Have a seat, Chakotay," said Janeway as she motioned to the ready room couch. "Can I interest you in some lastrin?"

"What is it? Another one of Neelix's 'better than coffee' substitutes?"

"Actually, it's quite good. And yes, it's another coffee substitute, but I think he's finally gotten it right this time. He said it was very popular on Sirana."

"My sense of adventure tells me it's a little early in the day for one of Neelix's concoctions, but if you say it's drinkable..."

"You won't be sorry," said Janeway as she poured a mug for him and brought it to the sitting area. Chakotay took a sip, and his eyes widened in surprise. "See? I was right."

"Well, if we ever encounter the Borg again, you have something new to beat them with," said Chakotay, saluting her with the mug.

Janeway laughed. "Let's hope we don't have to put that to the test. My hands are certainly full enough dealing with this latest map. It's a puzzle, all right."

"So Tuvok's not handling it very well, is he?" asked Chakotay, merriment in his eyes.

"No," Janeway answered with a smirk. "He came to me about an hour ago, and was as about as openly frustrated as I've ever known him to be."

"Tuvok openly frustrated? That I'd like to see," said Chakotay with a laugh.

"He probably wouldn't appear any different to you than he usually does," said Janeway. "You need to have known him for as long as I have to be able to read the signs."

"So what's got our resident Vulcan tactical officer's equanimity in a twist?"

"The lack of definitive new information despite all the hours of meditation, and the fact that none of the new quadlets will fuse to the rest of the map. He's been at it since late yesterday afternoon, and doesn't have that much more than he did from the first Third Portal quadlet before it fused with the one from Naomi."

"What did you do when he came to you with it?"

"Reminded him again that he himself had told me not to expect the process to be the same every time," said Janeway. She paused for another sip of her 'coffee.' "I asked him to give it a little more thought to see if he could determine what logical reasons there might be for why his results with the map are what they are."

"And?"

"He's come up with a few ideas that make sense, but it's still all conjecture. He'll go over his theories in the briefing. What I'd like you to do after we're done here is to go down to the planet and see if you can locate this Jeshun person that passed the quadlet to Naomi. He might have a few answers for us. Take Tuvok and Samantha Wildman with you. Samantha actually spoke to Jeshun, and Tuvok really needs the break, even though he'll deny it."

"It's probably a good idea to have him along for security as well. And if by chance we should find another quadlet, he can help verify it."

"There's a thought," said Janeway. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

--

Briefing room, 1100 hours:

"Tuvok, you're definitely losing your touch," said Tom Paris, who positively cackled with glee at the opportunity to heckle the Vulcan.

The fused map and Third Portal quadlets lay in front of Tuvok on the briefing room table, still in two unmerged sections, after having been passed around the table for the senior staff to inspect. He directed an intense stare of disapproval in Paris's direction, which had no effect whatsoever on the helmsman.

"Tom, cut the man some slack," said Kim. "I suppose you think you can do better?"

Chakotay caught the Captain's eye momentarily and smiled when he noticed the corner of her mouth twitch as she suppressed a smile.

"All right, people, let's get started," said Janeway, effectively putting a stop to Paris's needling without having to reprimand him. "Tuvok, report."

"As Mr. Paris has so kindly pointed out, Captain," said Tuvok, with a glare for Paris's benefit, "the Third Portal quadlets have not merged themselves with the fused map that we have accumulated thus far on our journey through First and Second Portal space. As you requested, I have given this phenomenon further thought, and the only logical conclusion I have been able to draw is that we have not acquired the pieces in the proper order. The Third Portal quadlets are fusing only with one another, and it is unclear as yet if the order matters with the four quadlets scattered within each Portal space. It would appear, however, that either that or completeness are considerations in whether or not a quadlet will fuse with those which have already been accumulated in traveling through previous Portals."

"Inefficient. What precisely would be the purpose of this?" asked Seven. "If the goal is to pass through thirteen Portals in the most expeditious manner, then this approach is flawed."

"It may well be inefficient," said Tuvok, "but we don't know the circumstances surrounding the distribution of this particular set of quadlets by the Mapkeepers. They may well have been under some form of duress – pursuit, perhaps, and of necessity, they resorted to this method as a means of confusing their pursuers. Other possibilities are that it is an obstacle meant to test the resolve and worthiness of the people responsible for transporting the map, or it may be a means of stymieing those who might come to possess any of this particular set of pieces by unsavory or unethical means."

"A possible safeguard, then, is what you're saying," said Chakotay.

"Precisely."

"Ingenious," said Neelix. "After what happened to us on Abras and in Second Portal space, I can see why the Mapkeepers might want to do things this way," said Neelix. "Clever, very clever."

"Indeed," said Tuvok.

"Did you get anything useful at all out of the two Third Portal quadlets?" asked Kim. "You said those two fused."

"As I meditated over the quadlet we acquired from Captain Helar, a barely visible pattern emerged in a transparent area, along with a weak signal that fluctuated in strength and appeared to be composed of a rotating set of frequencies. After this quadlet merged with the one Naomi Wildman acquired on Sirana, both became more pronounced."

"Captain Helar's chief pilot happened to be working with Seven in astrometrics when the quadlets merged," said Janeway. "He recognized the pattern immediately as part of the sky surrounding Tarkada, but it was an incomplete version of the constellations above his homeworld. There was only enough information for him to recognize it as belonging to his home region of space, but there was nothing else to give us an idea of which course to follow to reach Tarkada."

"What about the signal?" asked Torres.

"It's actually several signals coexisting all at once within a narrow band," said Janeway.

"Why would anyone as advanced as the Mapkeeper do something as confusing as that? asked Neelix. "It doesn't make sense."

"Breadcrumbs," said Kim. "My guess is that they're a sequence of frequencies designed to lead us to the next quadlets. We just don't know yet what order they're supposed to be in."

"That's what I've been thinking too, Harry," said Janeway. "B'Elanna, I need those signals separated and the specific frequency for each one isolated. Reconfigure our sensors to scan for all of them within that narrow band. It's not exactly a beacon frequency, but it's the closest thing we've got."

"Speaking of beacon frequencies," said Torres, "I should probably recalibrate Chakotay's beacon locator to include them as well."

"Good thinking. How long do you estimate that will take you? I'd like to send Chakotay down to the surface with Tuvok and Samantha Wildman to find the person who gave the quadlet to Naomi."

"Two hours at the most, probably less," said Torres. "I'll leave the Second Portal frequency intact until we have something definite for this Portal space, but I'll calibrate the device to detect all of the new signals as well."

"All right, do it," said Janeway.

"Captain..." Tuvok began.

"Tuvok, give the map a rest for the next several hours. If Chakotay and Samantha are able to find Jeshun and another quadlet on the planet, they'll need your help to verify it's genuine."

"As you wish," said Tuvok.

She addressed the entire senior staff. "So far, there's been no encrypted file to give us additional hints about where the last two pieces of the map might be located. I think getting the rest of the quadlets is going to be a 'fly by the seat of your pants' maneuver."

"That's probably your department, Tom," said Kim, to chuckles around the table.

"Sounds like fun," said Paris. "Never a dull day on the good ship _Voyager_."

"Speaking of your department, Tom," said Janeway, "how's the work on integrating the Tarkada stealth cloak into the _Flyer's_ systems coming along?"

"Almost done. We're ready to start calibrating it. After that, we'll need to test its stability and then take the _Flyer_ out. I'll need one of their pilots to check it out while in operation and teach me how to use it."

"We can't do any more work in astrometrics on locating the Tarkada homeworld until we have more information from the map, so I'll ask Helar to send his chief helmsman over to help you with the fine tuning. See how much testing you can do in the shuttlebay. I'd rather wait until _Voyager's_ out in open space again so we don't call attention to ourselves by having you buzzing around and winking on and off Sirana's planetary sensors."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Paris.

"If there's nothing else, I'd just like to remind everyone not to discuss the map with anyone at the reception tonight, including each other. Pass that along to your departments. I'll do the same with Captain Helar. The quieter we all can be about it, the less trouble we'll have the rest of the time we're in Third Portal space."

A chorus of "ayes" and "acknowledged" responded to her request. Janeway gave one last look around the table, and then said, "Dismissed."

--

Ready Room, 1154 hours:

"I agree completely," said Helar. "A wise precaution. I am certain that neither of us wish to attract the attention of another race such as the Magol. My skin still feels soiled when I recall the occasion that necessity forced me to set foot upon that filthy ship. I have seen fully loaded garbage transports that were cleaner."

Janeway shuddered at the thought of the Magol. "My first officer told me something very similar, Helar. He was captured and detained aboard Gunlag's vessel for several hours until we were able to rescue him. He told me it would be a very long time before he forgot the smell of the place."

Helar chuckled and shook his head, causing the feathers in his crest to dance lightly.

Janeway smiled at the sight. She paused briefly to let the moment of humor pass, and then said, "We probably won't be able to suppress all knowledge of _Voyager_ having the map, but on the other hand, there's no need for either of us go out of the way to make ourselves an easy target."

"And I will do everything I can to insure that does not come to pass," said Helar. "When can I expect your officer Neelix?"

"He has some final preparation work to start for tonight, and will then turn it over to an assistant. I would say approximately two of your intervals."

"Two intervals, then," said Helar. "I will let my crew know to expect him."

"Very good," said Janeway. "Helar, we don't have enough information right now to continue the search for your homeworld, and we probably won't have much more until we collect the rest of the map. I was going to request that your officer Jerat join my helmsman here on Voyager to help him calibrate the stealth cloak for our _Delta Flyer_ shuttle. We won't actually test it in flight until we are out in open space away from Sirana, but I'd like to complete as much of the installation as possible while we are still sitting on the surface."

"I will send him to you when he returns from Sirana City," said Helar. "He is on an errand, but I expect him to return soon."

"Thank you, Helar," said Janeway. "I appreciate your helpfulness, and I look forward to our face to face conversation this evening."

"As do I."

Janeway nodded and closed the connection. She took a sip from her mug of lastrin and sighed as she tackled the padd in front of her containing the latest repair progress report.

--

On Sirana, 1241 hours:

Chakotay instinctively reached under the long vest he wore to conceal his tricorder as he felt himself intentionally jostled by someone in the crowd at the festival. He felt a hand brush his, and grabbed the wrist of the person who had thought the unfamiliar alien with the markings on his forehead would make an easy mark. Chakotay kept hold of the man's wrist as he whirled to face the pickpocket. Tuvok quietly stepped behind the thief, applied a Vulcan neck pinch, and then caught the man as he began to slump to the ground.

Tuvok and Chakotay helped the man to the side of the path they were on. Samantha Wildman trailed behind, explaining to anyone who questioned her that the man had appeared ill, and they were just helping him to the side of the road where he could rest for a while until he felt better. The three arranged the pickpocket so that he was sitting up against a tree, and then they slipped back into the crowd once they were no longer attracting attention.

"Glad you came along, Tuvok," said Chakotay. "You have to teach me how to do that."

"There weren't any pickpockets either day when Naomi and I came down to the festival with Neelix," said Wildman.

"Correction, Ensign Wildman – there were none that you noticed," said Tuvok. "There are always opportunists in a crowd as large as this one."

"I guess we were just lucky, then," said Wildman.

"Lucky, indeed."

"Speaking of noticing people, Samantha, have you seen Jeshun anywhere yet?" asked Chakotay.

"No," she answered. "I only remember having seen him that first day we visited the zoo. He was near the entrance just that one time, and Neelix said something later that same day about not having seen him when we went in, only when we were leaving. It was pretty late in the afternoon."

"We can ask when we get to the zoo, Samantha," said Chakotay. "Naomi showed me her picture of the bird she saw. Anyone who can draw that realistically would probably be remembered for his work, if nothing else."

After another few minutes, the trio reached the zoo. Wildman pointed out where the painter had been. A food vendor now occupied the spot where Jeshun had set up his artwork for sale.

Wildman walked over to the vendor. "Have you seen an elderly man who had this location two days ago? My little girl and I came to the zoo and bought two of his paintings when we were going on our way home." She gestured toward Chakotay and Tuvok. "I showed my friends his artwork and they were hoping to see more of it. He told me his name was Jeshun."

The young man tending the food cart smiled and said, "Great Uncle Jeshun is around this area somewhere. He told me today that there were several more unusual animals in the zoo he wished to draw, and that he would then be going to attend an ethnic dance performance by a troupe visiting with one of the outlying planetary delegations. Surketa, I think he said the company was called. He thought it would make an interesting subject for his artwork, so he told me I could have his assigned place near this zoo."

"And you are not sure of his exact location?" asked Tuvok.

"Afraid not," said the vendor. "Great Uncle Jeshun is very independent. I would try the zoo, and then the dance performance. With a little luck, you may find him." He pulled out the festival brochure and said, "Here, I'll show you."

They pored over the brochure's map to find the location of the Surketa dance troupe's performance. Wildman checked her pockets, thinking that she might have stuck a brochure from the other day into one of them. She was rewarded with a slightly battered copy, which the three marked according the directions the vendor gave them. They thanked him for his help and entered the zoo.

--

Aboard the _Prosperous Journey, _1342 hours:

Neelix stood in the galley of the Tarkada vessel _Prosperous Journey_, chatting with Darkat about final preparations for _Voyager's_ reception for the Siranians. At the last minute, he had decided to bring over a container with representative examples of the evening's culinary fare for Captain Helar's cook to sample.

"You've managed to capture the flavor and consistency of our karset pudding quite nicely, Officer Neelix," said Darkat.

"It's just Neelix, as I said to you last night. We're friends and comrades in arms," said the Talaxian with a smile.

"Very well... Neelix," Darkat said, with only a slight hesitation at the familiarity.

"That's better," said Neelix with a big grin. He pointed out a few canapés and said, "Now, Darkat, try these and tell me honestly what you think. They're what most of the _Voyager_ crew likes."

Darkat tried several, carefully chewing and rolling them around in his mouth. Finally, he swallowed and said, "You may wish for me to return to addressing you as Officer Neelix once again."

Neelix raised his bushy eyebrows in surprise.

"Allow me to explain," said a nervous Darkat. "There is nothing wrong with the flavor – actually, it is quite pleasant. However, this kind of food is what we feed our young before their stomachs are developed sufficiently to digest our robust Tarkadan spices. That is what I meant."

Neelix heaved an enormous sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the stars. I'm not the only one." At Darkat's quizzical expression, he explained. "I don't know how _Voyager's_ crew can eat something this plain, either. It's much too bland for my taste, and whenever I try to make it more appealing with my Talaxian spices, I get complaints that you would not believe. They're wonderful people, and I owe them my life several times over, but they just don't appreciate good food."

"May I?" asked Darkat, taking several bottles of spices down from his shelves. Neelix nodded, eager to taste what his Tarkadan counterpart was going to suggest. Darkat thought for a moment as he surveyed the plate of canapés for _Voyager's_ crew and recalled which ones he had sampled. He opened his bottles and took small pinches of the contents to dust over those. When he had finished, he looked at Neelix and said, "Now I require _your_ honest opinion."

Neelix, being the adventurous soul that he was, snagged the nearest spiced canapé and popped it into his mouth. His eyes went wide, his hand went to his chest, and he rolled his eyes at Darkat as he gave a moan of pleasure.

"Neelix? Officer Neelix?' asked a worried Darkat.

"Exquisite," said Neelix. "Your spices not only enhance the flavor, but bring out subtle aftertastes that are most intriguing."

"I have sufficient stored reserves and spice plants growing in our cultivation bays aboard _Prosperous Journey_ that you may have a supply to take back to _Voyager_ when you return. Perhaps if you made the spices available to your crew separately so they could season their food to their personal liking, they would learn to broaden their palate that way. This is how we teach our children."

"It's worth a try, Darkat," said Neelix.

At that moment, Dinsar and Dursat burst into the _Prosperous Journey's_ mess hall. They spotted Neelix immediately.

"Friend Neelix, we heard you were on board our vessel," said Dinsar, "How is it that you are visiting us today?"

"My Captain asked me to come over and speak to those attending tonight's reception. That includes the two of you, I take it?"

"Yes," replied Dursat. "Most of my crewmates will be there. What is it you wish to speak to us about?"

"Well, about the map," said Neelix. "Captain Janeway wanted me to explain to your crew how important it is that no one say anything about it tonight, not even to each other. She felt that with your crew so excited about Jerat finding Tarkada on the map last night, they might talk among themselves at the reception. You never know who might be listening."

"Very true," said Dinsar. "The Tarkada originally learned of the map in a conversation we happened to overhear in a shop on Abras. My brother and I activated our stealth cloaks and followed the person with the information as they met up with their shipmates and told them the details. It was a simple matter to locate _Voyager_ and follow your vessel."

"I'm pleased that you understand and are not offended," said Neelix.

"The request causes no offence. We will speak to our crewmates and convey your Captain's message. None of us on _Prosperous Journey_ wish to encounter a race as despicable as the Magol ever again," said Dinsar, with a shudder. "We have met far too many unscrupulous and hostile people on our journey back to Tarkada."

"_Voyager's_ crew would agree with you on that. Remind me later to tell you about the Kazon and Vidiians," said Neelix. "They make the Magol look tame by comparison."

"Oh?" said Dursat.

"You were lucky," said Neelix. "The Caretaker didn't pull you as close to his array as he did _Voyager_, but all that is a story for a dull moment at tonight's reception."

Dinsar, meanwhile, had spotted the container of canapés. "And are these for tonight's reception as well?"

Neelix laughed and said, "Yes. Darkat was just showing me how to improve them with some of your spices. I care for my _Voyager_ friends as if they were my own family, but they have very some strange notions about food. Nearly all of them dislike leola root, and complain loudly and in great detail every time I try to improve their nutrition by adding it to the menu."

"Leola root?" asked Darkat.

"Try these," said Neelix, pointing to several canapés the Tarkadan cook had not yet sampled. "Go ahead, both of you, too," he said, motioning to Dinsar and Dursat.

Dinsar bit into a canapé and said with surprise, "Fineek."

Darkat took a bite of his and said, "Neelix, where did you get fineek? It refuses to grow in our cultivation bay and we have been unable to find it in any of the markets we have visited along our journey. It is the base for many of our favorite dishes."

"My people call it leola root," said Neelix, "and it's plentiful on any planet in the region of space that I'm from. I've not seen it either in any of the markets we've visited over the past several years, but fortunately it grows plentifully in our hydroponics bay. We must have a different strain of a root similar to your fineek."

"Would you be open to a trade? Tarkadan spice plants for fineek plants?" asked Durkat.

"I think it could be arranged. Your spices are not quite as pungent as Talaxian spices, so I think they might be more suited to the _Voyager_ crew's palate. I'd certainly appreciate the tastier diet."

"You think so?"

"We'll know better after tonight," said Neelix. "I'll take your advice and have the spices available separately for the crew to season their own food."

"I hope they prove acceptable," said Darkat.

"No matter. Even if they're not, I would like some of your condiments for myself," said Neelix. "I have more leola root growing in hydroponics than I can use right now, so you're welcome to the extra, whatever my crewmates decide about the spices."

"Neelix, I don't know how to thank you."

"There's no need," said Neelix. "You of all people would understand how important a little taste of home can be." Darkat bowed his head to acknowledge Neelix's comment. "I'll leave these with you for now. Just bring the container back when you come tonight. Right now, I have to make my rounds and speak to the people from your crew who will be at tonight's reception."

"I will accompany you and point out the ones who will be attending," offered Dinsar.

"That would be an enormous help to me, Dinsar," said Neelix. "You don't have somewhere else you need to be, or something else to do?"

"My duty shift is over, and I am at liberty to assist you until this evening," said Dinsar. "Allow me to help insure that we encounter no more races such as the Magol."

"Lead on, then," said Neelix, nodding to Darkat and Dursat as they dug into the rest of the canapés. He left the _Prosperous_ _Journey's_ mess hall with Dinsar.

--

Shuttlebay, 1437 hours:

"When we're done for the day, I can give you a tour of the ship," said Tom Paris.

"I would appreciate that," said a slightly embarrassed Jerat as he tightened a connection, "at least the parts I haven't seen already, like your cargo bay, engineering, and star mapping laboratory."

Tom looked confused for a moment, and then understood. "Oh. So it was you who managed to get aboard _Voyager_ like a ghost in the night. I'm sure glad you're on our side now. We couldn't detect you or your observation ship until after you were long gone."

"I am ashamed of my actions now, given that they were taken on behalf of an unprincipled captain who proved to be an unworthy and treacherous ally."

"What is that proverb one of your people quoted the other day? The one about getting back what you give out?"

"Ah, yes," said Jerat. "'Fate repays your kindness in equal measure to which you show it.' We teach it to our young from the moment they are old enough to understand."

"We have something similar that says, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' What I'm trying to say here is that all that is in the past. What matters is what you are doing now. Captain Janeway is a good person for giving people a second chance so they can redeem themselves."

"That is quite rare," said Jerat.

"I know," said Paris. We'd lay down our lives for her, not that she would ever expect us to. Listen, tell you what. Let's finish up this part of the calibration, and I'll take you to our holodeck and show you what people on my planet two hundred years ago thought space travel would be like. I'll tell you my story on the way over."

"Agreed, Tom," said Jerat. "I look forward to both."

Paris nodded, and they both turned back to calibrating the stealth cloak on the _Delta Flyer_. Paris smiled as he mentally ran through the chapters of Captain Proton, trying to decide which one Jerat might enjoy most.

--

At the Zoo on Sirana, afternoon:

"Oh, no... she didn't," said a laughing Samantha Wildman as the away team stood in front of the cage with the lavender-crested blue bird that had so fascinated her daughter Naomi two days earlier.

"Oh, but she did," said a smirking Chakotay. "Naomi came to my office to show me her pictures, and with that total innocence they have at her age, she asked if I thought our new allies looked like this bird in the zoo."

"Well, I'm glad she asked you instead of our visitors," said Samantha. "The Tarkada seem to be pretty open-minded in spite of being a little formal, but I'd rather she kept those observations behind closed doors. No need to be rude, even if there's a little bit of truth in the question."

Chakotay snickered. Tuvok merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Ensign Wildman, I commend you on raising your daughter well. She is as observant as she is polite. Mr. Dinsar of the Tarkada did speak of having avian ancestors as a part of his species' evolutionary heritage. However, I agree with you that it is best she said nothing directly that might offend our new allies." Wildman nodded.

Changing the subject, Chakotay said, "I don't think we're going to find Jeshun in the zoo. We've pretty much covered the entire exhibit, so let's move on to the dance performance."

"Agreed," said Tuvok. Wildman pulled out her festival brochure and the away team took a moment to orient themselves before setting off for the location where the performance was to be held.

After about a twenty minute walk, the away team reached the venue where the Surketa dance troupe was scheduled to give their performance. The plaza that the festival organizers had chosen for all arts performances was very crowded, and after several minutes of scanning the crowd, Samantha Wildman was ready to give up.

"I don't see him anywhere," she said. "You would think that an old man with an easel and bag of canvases would stand out, even in a crowd like this."

"We still have a few minutes until the performance begins," said Chakotay. "If he's as old and bent over as you described, it would probably take him quite a while to get here, no matter how independent he is."

"I know you're right, Chakotay," Wildman said, "but I feel like I've not been very much use to the team."

"Samantha, you can hardly point out someone who's not here right now," said Chakotay. "Listen, we'll all keep our eyes open. You've given us a good description, so one of us is sure to spot him."

The away team continued to scan the crowd for the next few minutes until Wildman excitedly pointed across the plaza and said, "Over there, 45 degrees to your right, near that tree."

"I see him, but it looks like they're about to get started," said Chakotay. "We'll never be able to work our way through this crowd without attracting attention."

"Commander, you and the Ensign remain here. One person will draw considerably less notice than three. I will find a way through the crowd to reach Mr. Jeshun's location. You may join me there when the crowd begins to disperse. Until that time, enjoy the performance."

"Sounds like a plan, Tuvok," said Chakotay.

Tuvok turned and eased his way back to the outer fringes of the crowd and began to edge closer to where the old man had set up his easel. Chakotay and Wildman watched his progress until the faint sound of drums echoing directly across the plaza from where they were standing caught their attention.

The crowd on the opposite side of the performance space parted to allow the approaching troupe to enter the center of the plaza, which had been roped off to give them sufficient room for their dance. Two pair of brightly clad drummers entered the space and split to the right and left to walk the perimeter of the open space until each corner had a drummer in it, who continued to keep up a steady beat. Two pair of musicians carrying flute-like instruments followed and walked the perimeter as well until each drummer had a flute player next to him. Once they were in place, a procession of paired male and female dancers entered the space. The pairs alternated splitting off to the right and left as the instrumentalists had. They walked in a circle until the two single file lines of alternating male and female dancers met to close the pattern.

The beat of the drums fell silent. Sunlight glinted on the intricately beaded, feathered, and braided coiffures of the men and women as they stood silently, waiting. Chakotay could sense the crowd's building anticipation, and he was grateful that Tuvok had taken it upon himself to maneuver his way through the crowd to reach Jeshun's location and left him in place to see the performance.

Chakotay glanced over at Samantha Wildman, and she smiled back. He could see that she was just as taken in by the sight as he was. He spent a few moments studying the costumes with their elaborate beaded borders and geometric symbols scattered randomly on tunics, skirts, and trousers alike. Chakotay felt a moment's twinge of nostalgia for the Native American ceremonial dances he had witnessed over the years, though the costumes bore little resemblance to anything he remembered. He marveled at the ability of the silent dancers to evoke such vivid, long ago memories, and he watched as they brought their hands up to waist level, elbows out, fingertips touching with palms facing downward. The dancers slowly raised their elbows and downturned palms to shoulder level and still waited. Chakotay found himself holding his breath along with the crowd.

Suddenly, all four drummers gave a single violent beat on their instruments. The sound galvanized the dancers to leap and tumble as the drummers began a repetitive chant in time with the strong rhythm they continued to pound out. A roar went up from the crowd as the flutes began to wail their hypnotic melody. Their song began as a unison strand and separated into four threads that mirrored the distinctive four-part pattern of movement to which the troupe had progressed. The crowd began to chant along with the drummers, and after a few repetitions, Chakotay caught on to the words and found himself joining in. He glanced over at Wildman, who stood transfixed by the spectacle.

The intricacy of the dance built until it was impossible to follow all four threads of the pattern at once. As the troupe's movements grew more and more acrobatic, the sunlight flashed brightly off the beads and stirred up the excitement of the crowd. They began to clap in rhythm to the drumbeats, which by now had divided into four distinct patterns to mirror the flutes.

The dancers performed their choreography in the outer portions of the space closest to the crowd until the flutes began to weave their separate melodies back together into a single strand. The dancers began to retreat toward the center of the plaza, their movements becoming more graceful as they moved in closer together and ended up swaying in place. The men formed a circle facing outward. The women faced them, forming a concentric circle around the men. The men lifted their partners skyward, and then the women arched backward and raised their arms above their heads in an arc, as if they were the petals of a large flower.

They remained upheld in this position until the drummers gave four unison beats on their instruments. The men slowly lowered their partners to the ground in tempo as the drummers began a recessional beat, processing around the perimeter of the space to pair up once more, followed by the flutes. The crowd parted once more to form an aisle that allowed them to pass out of the plaza. The dancers in the two concentric circles who were closest to the procession once more paired off and the rest followed, effectively reversing and closing the pattern they had created when they had entered the space.

The crowd cheered and applauded, leaving the aisle open for the troupe to come back into the plaza and take their bows. The thunderous applause and cheering went on for several minutes, after which time the Surketa dancers took a final bow and left the performance space.

Chakotay turned to see where Tuvok was, and was pleased to see that he had managed to position himself behind Jeshun. He turned to Samantha Wildman, who was still next to him and flushed with excitement.

"I'm glad it was Tuvok who decided to go over to Jeshun instead of sending me," said Wildman. I wouldn't have missed this for anything."

"If you can keep a secret, Samantha, I'm glad he went too," said Chakotay. "Do you still have that festival brochure?"

Wildman dug in her pocket, and came up with it. "Thinking of coming back to see them again?"

"Yes, if I can talk the Captain into it. We don't leave until the day after tomorrow, so there's still time for her to come down to the festival to see this. As a former dancer, I think she'd appreciate it."

"If you do bring the captain, may Naomi and I join you? I'd like her to see it too."

"Of course," he said. "Ah - here it is. They're giving another performance tomorrow afternoon. Now all I have to do is persuade the Captain and see if I can get the Doctor to part with his holoimager long enough for me to record the performance for the rest of the crew."

"Somehow, I think convincing the Doctor to part with his precious imager is going to be the harder of the two to accomplish."

They shared a laugh, until they noticed Tuvok discreetly trying to signal them.

"I think the crowd has thinned enough for us to just walk over without it being a production, Samantha," said Chakotay as he heard the communicator he had concealed under his vest chirp. He glanced around to be certain he was not the focus of someone's attention, discreetly removed his communicator from under his vest, and activated it. "We were just about to start over to you, Tuvok."

"I assume you are wearing your locator device. There is something of interest for you to see here," said Tuvok.

"You assume correctly, Tuvok. We're on our way. Chakotay out."

They started across the small plaza to Jeshun's location when Chakotay's beacon locator device began to vibrate lightly. _This should be interesting_, he thought. _Finding quadlets this time around_ _is almost too easy._

The two threaded their way through the dispersing crowd until they reached Tuvok's side. They all watched silently as Jeshun quickly sketched out several scenes from the performance while they were still fresh in his mind.

Finally, when it appeared that he had finished his sketches, Wildman said, "Jeshun, remember me? You painted my daughter two days ago, over by the zoo."

"Ah, yes," he said with a smile. "How is your young one?"

"She's well, and she's been showing the pictures you painted to everyone on our ship. I brought a few friends who are interested in seeing more of your artwork."

"Ah. This is one of your friends, then?" Jeshun asked as he indicated Tuvok. Wildman nodded. "I think he's already looked through most of my paintings while the performance was taking place." Jeshun turned to Tuvok and said, "Is there anything in particular that you are interested in, sir?"

Tuvok withdrew one painting and held it up for the others to see. Chakotay suppressed a gasp as he found himself looking at a very detailed rendition of what could only be the interior of Eyfrod's hut with its towering skywall. Two figures stood near the far side of the room, one clearly instructing and explaining to the other.

"Oh, that one. A bit of indigestion, that one is. I was rushing to my assigned place for the festival two days ago, and I encountered a young man selling blank canvases for a very good price. Long ridge between his eyes, a small piece of metal along the side of his nose and partially over his eye – now, there was a face with a story to tell. It would certainly make a very interesting picture. I may paint it still."

Chakotay and Wildman just looked at each other without saying a word. They realized that Jeshun had in all likelihood bought his canvases from Icheb.

"Well, I was very happy to come across him. There's a special plastic material I like to use for my art. More durable than canvas, you know, but hard to find." He had quite a large quantity of it, so I stopped and negotiated with him, and he sold me the entire lot very reasonably. Never saw his kind before, but such a polite young man he was. Even helped me carry the canvases to my spot by the zoo."

"Indigestion, you were saying?" asked Tuvok, trying to get the conversation back to the direction in which he wanted it to go if he was going to gather any useful information.

"Yes, and a particularly nasty case I might add, but it's my own fault, you see. I took so long acquiring the canvases that I missed my usual morning meal time before I set up for the day. I had to eat very quickly if I wanted to be ready when the zoo opened, and at my age, that does give one a sour stomach. I had a very strange dream that night, and painted what I remembered of it when I awoke."

"Fascinating," said Tuvok.

"Listen, sir – if you're interested in the painting, I'll sell it to you cheap," said Jeshun. "Most people like flowers or landscapes, or they ask me to do their portraits, but there are a few adventurous souls such as yourself, sir, who appreciate the occasional bit of whimsy I paint from time to time."

Chakotay and Wildman made a point of not looking at each other when Jeshun referred to Tuvok as "adventurous," since they both knew they would be unable to contain their laughter.

Chakotay said, "If he doesn't want it, I'll be happy to take off your hands."

"Five lekmas, then," said Jeshun as he looked back and forth between Chakotay and Tuvok. Chakotay withdrew some of the local currency from his pocket, peeled off a five lekma note, and handed it to Jeshun.

Taking the painting, he said, "Jeshun, will you be at the festival tomorrow afternoon? I have a friend I want to bring down to see the Surketa dancers. I'd be interested in acquiring one of your paintings of the performance."

"Any one in particular, kind sir?"

Chakotay looked though the sketches until he found one that clearly depicted the four patterns the dancers had made on the plaza and another that showed the final pose with the female dancers lifted and held skyward by their partners.

"I like both of these, Jeshun. Perhaps if you could finish both, I could choose between them tomorrow afternoon following the performance."

"Consider it done, sir. I will be here in this same location tomorrow. There are other performers I wish to paint, as well as having another look at the Surketa dancers. I will remain here by this tree for you after they perform."

"Until then, Jeshun," said Chakotay. He picked up the painting of Eyfrod's sky wall and the three made their way back to the beamout point to return to _Voyager_ in time for the evening's reception.

--

The Reception for the Siranians

Mess Hall, 1923 hours:

"It was remarkable," said Chakotay to Ambassador Rakeem and Captain Janeway. "I've seen a good number of dance performances in my day, but nothing quite like this. It evoked a sense of familiarity with tribal ceremonial dances I'd seen in the past without being the least bit like them."

"The Surketa dancers are renowned throughout all the worlds in this region," said Rakeem. "I've heard that they often have that effect on visitors to our festival. I would imagine that is why they're one of the most popular attractions whenever they appear." He turned to Janeway and asked, "Have you had a chance to see them perform, Captain Janeway?"

"I'm afraid not, Ambassador, much to my regret. Ship's business has kept me aboard _Voyager_ most of the time we've been on your planet," said Janeway.

"Captain, they're scheduled again for tomorrow afternoon," said Chakotay. "I'd planned to suggest that you take an hour or two off the ship to see them. As a former dancer, you would appreciate them more than most people."

Seeing Rakeem's raised eyebrows at this tidbit of information, Janeway said, "As a child, I studied a formal dance on my world known as ballet. Many children on Earth do, especially if they're female."

"Then you simply must attend," said Ambassador Rakeem. "The Surketa dancers are not to be missed by someone with the life experience to truly understand their art. I would be most happy to arrange a prime viewing location for you and your party."

"Naomi hasn't seen them yet, Captain," said Chakotay, knowing full well that the Captain would be unable to refuse her 'assistant' anything. "When I mentioned to Samantha that I was planning to invite you to come see them, she asked if she and Naomi could join us if you said yes."

"It looks as if we'll be a party of four, then, Ambassador," said Janeway, conceding gracefully. "I appreciate your kind offer." She turned to Chakotay and said, "I'll leave all this in your capable hands, Commander. Would you see to the arrangements with the Ambassador's office?"

"Of course, Captain." Chakotay turned to Rakeem and said, "I'll contact your consulate early tomorrow morning, if that's acceptable to you."

"I will tell them to expect your call."

"Thank you, Ambassador," Chakotay said. "And now, if you both will excuse me, I'll let Samantha and Naomi know."

Janeway nodded, and Chakotay left her side to circulate through the gathering until he came to the Wildmans. Both mother and daughter were deep in conversation with Neelix near the counter where the platters of food were set up.

Chakotay waited for a lull and then asked, "Naomi, how would you like to go to see the Surketa dancers perform tomorrow afternoon?"

"The ones my Mom saw with you today?"

"The very same." Naomi grinned and nodded her head vigorously. "Naomi, why don't you go thank the Ambassador for offering to arrange a special place for us to watch them from." Naomi headed off across the room to the spot where Janeway and Ambassador Rakeem were in conversation with Tuvok and Captain Helar, who had joined them in Chakotay's absence.

"You work fast," said Samantha Wildman, once Naomi was out of earshot. "I expected it to take you until the very last minute before the performance to persuade the Captain."

"Actually, I let the Ambassador do the work for me," said Chakotay. "I raved about them front of him."

"Which wouldn't have been hard to do, or so I've heard," said Neelix, with a wink for Samantha Wildman.

"You heard right – and it wasn't. It was a pretty good setup. When he asked the Captain if she'd been to a performance, I managed to get in the fact that she'd been a dancer and that Naomi hadn't seen them yet. Rakeem insisted that she go and said that he would arrange a prime viewing spot for us."

"Sounds like a strictly Maquis maneuver to me," said Wildman.

"Oh, it was," said a self-satisfied Chakotay.

"I think Tom would refer to that as 'a piece of cake'," said Neelix, which caused all three of them to break out into laughter.

"So guys, what's so funny?" asked Kim, who had come over to refill his plate.

"Takes too long to explain, Harry," said Chakotay.

"Harry," said Neelix, "you're one of the more adventurous people on this ship when it comes to food. Try these," he said as he lightly sprinkled a few canapés with the Tarkadan spices he'd acquired from Darkat. "The Tarkada's cook gave me spices that make these appetizers taste even better than my pleeka rind casserole, and I do know how much you like that."

"You sure about this? Do I need the Doc standing by?"

Neelix looked wounded for a moment. "Harry, just trust me, and try it."

Kim bit into a canapé and looked at the Talaxian with surprise. "Neelix! Good stuff."

"Really? Are you serious, Harry?" asked Wildman. "I've been tempted to try it, but Neelix's spices really don't agree with me. I'm going down to the planet tomorrow for a special dance performance, and I don't want to get sick and have to miss it."

"These are Tarkadan spices, Samantha," Neelix said. "They're not as robust as mine, but still surprisingly flavorful and they bring the out subtle aftertastes in whatever they're added to."

"Well... all right," said Wildman. She sprinkled some spice on one of the canapés and bit into it tentatively at first, and then finished it with relish.

"Neelix, I think your latest addition to our diet looks like it's going to be a big hit," said Chakotay. "How did you come by it?"

"Actually, Helar's cook gave me some when I went over to his ship earlier today on an errand for the Captain. They prefer a more highly spiced diet than _Voyager's_ crew. He offered me a supply and some of their spice plants in exchange for my extra leola root plants. They call it fineek on their world, and apparently, they like to use it in nearly all of their cooking. The strain they have won't grow for them in their cultivation bays, so I agreed to trade them some of ours. That won't be a problem with the Captain, will it? Trading away some of our essential food supplies?"

"I don't think so, Neelix," said Chakotay. "It looks like you've done both them and us a good turn."

Kim cleared his throat suddenly to cover a snort of laughter. He risked a glance at Chakotay and instantly regretted seeing the barely visible smirk on the first officer's face. Kim said hurriedly, "If you folks will excuse me, I see Tom over across the room. I just remembered something I have to ask him."

"Sure, Harry," said Chakotay with a mischievous tone to his voice. "Talk to you later." He watched as Kim walked in Paris's direction, the ensign's shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. He saw the two exchange a few words, and then smiled as they began to laugh. Despite the Tasnixia bond, Neelix was oblivious to the double meaning behind the first officer's comment.

Chakotay was about to sample a few canapés with Neelix's new spices, when Jerat approached him with Dinsar and Dursat in tow.

"Officer Chakotay, may we speak with you?" asked Jerat.

"Yes, of course," said Chakotay. He excused himself and led the three over to a less crowded area near the viewports. "What can I do for the three of you?

Jerat began by saying, "Your Officer Seven spoke to me of your mixed crew, and told me that you would be the best person to explain about the Maquis, since you were their leader. I worked with Officer Tom earlier today on your _Delta Flyer _shuttle, and he told me that Starfleet was sent to arrest the Maquis as their enemies. How is it that you serve aboard this ship then, as part of the crew?"

"I guess I would start by saying that we were not so much enemies as people on opposite sides of a very serious issue," Chakotay replied. "The Federation did not honor a treaty with my home planet and a number of other worlds. We were left us on our own, despite the fact that we were officially Federation citizens. The Maquis were formed to protect us from an enemy called the Cardassians, who did not honor their part of the agreement to allow these people to live their lives in peace. Many of us who ended up joining the Maquis had lost family and friends from ongoing Cardassian attacks that violated the treaty, which the Federation did nothing to stop."

"The Maquis felt that we had to take care of our own, since we received no help from the Federation. That put Federation officials in a very difficult position, since they had to publicly uphold the treaty by capturing and prosecuting us. We had friends fairly high up in Starfleet who knew exactly how bad the real situation was, and they did what they could to help us."

"Officer Tom told me that your Captain Janeway was sent to arrest you," said Jerat.

"That's true," said Chakotay. "My cell was very effective, and made a lot of trouble for the Federation. Starfleet planted a spy aboard my ship to gather information about the Maquis, and when he missed contacting Starfleet twice at his appointed times, they sent _Voyager_ after us. What neither of us had counted on was being dragged to the other side of the galaxy."

"By the Caretaker," said Dinsar.

"Yes. Captain Janeway lost about a third of her crew, and we ended up losing our ship. The Captain invited me and my people to join hers as a way of solving both our dilemmas. We agreed that the ship needed unity and so as the two leaders, we decided to run it by Starfleet rules."

"And there was no resentment between the crews?"

Chakotay laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. Both sides had to make adjustments. But Captain Janeway put the best person for the job in the vacant positions she had to fill, and it wasn't just automatically someone in Starfleet. That went a long way toward easing tensions between the two crews. In the end, everyone set all that aside, and we've since become our own little family. Most of the time, we don't think of someone as Maquis or Starfleet. We're one crew, and it's thanks to Captain Janeway."

"Remarkable," said Dinsar. "Officer Chakotay, you must understand why we asked. The Tarkada are a people known for their sense of honor and fairness in all their dealings. A considerable number of us remain troubled by our misguided alliance with the Magol. To have caused the kind of injury to your ship and crew as we did in service to someone as despicable as Gunlag turned out to be is considered a high offence among the Tarkada, even if it was unintentional. We feel we have brought dishonor on the good name of our people, and wish to assure you of our integrity and trustworthiness in this new alliance."

"Captain Janeway is a very astute judge of character," said Chakotay. "You wouldn't be standing here talking to me right now if we didn't trust you. If you should encounter any resentment or ill treatment from anyone in _Voyager's_ crew, I want you to let me know and I will handle it personally.

"Thank you, Officer Chakotay. That is most kind of you," said Dinsar.

"I don't foresee any major problems, but our alliance is very new, so there might be a bump or two along the way. I think the best way to prevent any friction is for us to get to know each other, don't you agree?"

All three Tarkada nodded. Chakotay continued, saying, "Most of the crew are explorers at heart, and they look forward to getting to know new people and their cultures. In your case, I think you'll find they understand your strong desire to return home. We share it as well, so we all have that in common. Come – I'll introduce you personally to more of the crew, and we'll go from there."

Chakotay led the three Tarkada over to where Tom Paris, B'Elanna Torres, and Harry Kim were entertaining a group of friends with stories about their adventures at the festival. After a few minutes, he made the introductions and the _Voyager_ crew made a special effort to include their visitors in the conversation.

Chakotay stood back at a short distance and watched their progress. He smiled when he thought back over his words to the Tarkada, and took a few moments to reflect on just how far _Voyager's_ two crews had come from where they started. He sensed the desperation the Tarkada felt at being so far from home, and knew that the crew would understand their desire for acceptance despite their misstep in having been forced by circumstance to choose the Magol for an ally. He said a small prayer of thanks to his spirits for the day the _Val Jean_ had encountered Kathryn Janeway and sent him and his Maquis crew on the path to redeeming some personal meaning for their lives that didn't involve fighting constantly, and then he plunged back into the crowded mess hall to enjoy the rest of the evening.


	5. Act 3

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**ACT 3**

**Third Portal space, Day 9:  
**Saturday, February 12, 2377  
Stardate 54116.3

Briefing Room. 1103 hours:

"I see you're still batting a thousand, Tuvok," said Tom Paris, as he indicated the map, which was lying in front of the Vulcan, and still in two pieces.

"Indeed." Tuvok's dry comment produced chuckles around the table.

"Have you found anything new, Tuvok?" asked Janeway. "Any change at all?"

"No, Captain, there is none. After a thorough analysis of the skywall painting, I discovered no encrypted file or beacon frequency present, although the painting is on the same plastic material as the quadlets. Nor did it merge with either of the other portions of the map when I placed it on top of them. I must conclude that Mr. Jeshun is not a Mapkeeper, but rather an unwitting conduit for conveying a portion of the map into our hands."

"How is that possible Tuvok?' asked Kim. "He'd have no way of knowing who he was supposed to give the quadlet to."

"I believe I said "unwitting," Ensign," said Tuvok. "If you will recall, when we were in Second Portal space and first discovered the beacon frequency and encrypted file in that portion of the map, I speculated that there was an intelligence behind it, directing its movements. This may be an example of that intelligence."

"I remember you also said something about a psionic resonator," said Kim. "Aren't those things dangerous? I've read something about it being used as a telepathic weapon that could kill with a thought."

"You refer to the Stone of Gol, which was reputed in Vulcan mythology to give the individual who used it that ability. For many years, it was thought to be merely a legend, but agents of the Vulcan isolationist movement stole the first piece of it, and then hired a mercenary by the name of Arctus Baran to retrieve the remaining fragments from Romulan archeological sites. They wished to use the Stone to further their movement, but they were stopped and the Stone was destroyed by the Vulcan authorities."

"You make it sound like this map is a ticking time bomb, and we're sitting right on top of it," said Torres.

"Not necessarily so," said Tuvok. "There are numerous safeguards built into its assembly and transport to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands for very long, if at all. My suspicion is that the map is to be used for benign purposes, if indeed it is part of a psionic network."

"Benign purposes? Then why do we need to transport it to Vulcan, of all places? Starfleet should study the technology," said Kim. "They could have used it to put a stop to the Dominion War as it was getting started. All those hundreds of millions lives would never have been lost."

"That is precisely what should not be done with a device this powerful," said Tuvok. "There are too many in the Federation and Starfleet itself who crave power and would subvert the map as a tool to their ends. Vulcans do not seek power over others, only over themselves and their own minds. They thirst for knowledge, not conquest and domination. Who better to study an object that has the capacity to grant such great power than those who have no desire for it?"

"I'm with Tuvok on this one," said Chakotay. "We've seen that the map responds to telepathic controls, and Vulcans with their emotional detachment and telepathic abilities are best suited to study it. Eyfrod did tell us that the map was to be handed over to another Mapkeeper once it reached Vulcan. I'm inclined to go along with that until I see a good reason for doing otherwise."

"We can debate all this another time," said Janeway. "We're leaving Sirana tomorrow. What I'm concerned with right now is finding enough information in the pieces we already have to locate the rest of the Third Portal map and get ourselves and the Tarkada through the next Portal. Suggestions?"

"Captain," said Tom Paris, "since neither the new quadlets nor the map have given us a specific direction to follow this time, I suggest we resume our course to the Alpha Quadrant and keep scanning for the frequencies Tuvok found in the two quadlets we do have."

Janeway noticed Torres sit up straighter in response to Paris's suggestion, and asked, "B'Elanna? You have something to add?"

"Just that Tom's suggestion makes sense, Captain. "I've integrated the Abuscat sensor upgrades we got from Captain Helar into our systems, and it's increased our range and sensitivity to low-level readings considerably. If those other frequencies are out there waiting for us, they'd be awfully hard to miss."

"The worst that could happen if we follow our usual course is that we don't find the other two quadlets and just continue on in normal space as we've been doing for the past several years," said Paris. "We don't know where to look for the rest of the map at this point, and if we just set course for home, at least we won't waste any time if we can't find it. Tuvok? What do you say?"

"Mr. Paris has found the most logical solution to our dilemma," said Tuvok. "For once."

There were a few snickers as Paris said, "Oh, thanks, Tuvok. Whatta guy."

"It's a good suggestion, Tom," said Janeway. "I was leaning in that direction myself. We'll continue to scan for all the frequencies Tuvok found in the map, including the one for Second Portal space."

"Leave no stone unturned?"

"Something like that, Tom," said Janeway with a smile. "We'll leave between 0800 and 0900 tomorrow. I'll contact Helar to coordinate our departure." She glanced at Chakotay and then back at the rest of the senior staff. "I'll be on the planet for a few hours this afternoon with the Commander and the Wildmans, so if anything comes up that needs attention, run it past Tuvok."

"Captain's holiday?" asked Paris.

"A short one, Tom, but yes," Janeway said with a smile. She glanced around the room as she said, "If there's nothing else? Dismissed."

--

Planetside, 1532 hours:

Voyager's party of four had just enjoyed the Surketa dancers' performance from the special raised platform Ambassador Rakeem had arranged for them on the edge of the plaza.

"They were even better than what my Mom told me," said an excited Naomi Wildman.

"I'm glad you had a chance to see them, Naomi. They're pretty special. That's why I brought this," said Chakotay, holding up the holoimager. He opened the equipment pack he had been wearing slung over his shoulder and put the instrument away next to the memory module it had been hooked up to by cable.

"You were right, Chakotay, as usual," said Janeway. "I'm glad I took the time to see this. Did you capture it all on the imager?"

"I think so," he replied, as they all climbed down from the platform and onto the plaza. "It's well worth it to keep a full record of this performance. I've never seen anything quite like it. Tom should be able to create a holoprogram for the crew to enjoy, and we'll have a record of it for when we return home. I can think of a few universities that might like to get their hands on it, not to mention a few professors at the academy."

"Ever the anthropologist," said Janeway with a smile.

"How were you able to persuade the Doctor to part with his holoimager?" asked Samantha Wildman. "That can't have been easy. He guards that thing with his cyberlife."

"I promised him a copy of the recording, Samantha," answered Chakotay. "He missed seeing the Surketa dancers when he was off the ship. He'd been planning to take still pictures, but something came up and he was needed back on _Voyager_. His eyes lit up when I said I would be recording the entire performance, so it was a pretty easy negotiation."

"I think you just got lucky," said Janeway with a smirk.

"There's always that." Chakotay surveyed the thinning crowd, looking for Jeshun. He finally spotted the artist next to the tree he had been under the previous day, just as he said he would be. Chakotay waved to get Jeshun's attention, and the artist waved back.

"Friend of yours?" asked Janeway, slightly puzzled. She was under the impression that the four of them were the only _Voyager_ crewmembers at the dance performance.

"You might say that." Chakotay lifted Naomi Wildman up so that she could see over the heads of the remaining crowd. "Naomi, who do you see over by that tree directly across from us?" Chakotay asked.

"Jeshun!"

"That's right. We have to go see him about some sketches I asked him to finish for me to look at today."

Samantha Wildman bent down close to her daughter's ear and asked quietly, "Naomi, you remember what we're not supposed to talk about on the planet, don't you?"

"Yes, Mommy. I promise I won't say anything about the secret," said Naomi, which brought a smile to Janeway's face.

"Very good. Shall we go?" asked Samantha Wildman, as she took her daughter's hand. Naomi nodded and the group started across the plaza.

Jeshun was pleased to see Chakotay again. "Kind sir, I've finished both sketches you asked me to," he said, pulling out two vivid drawings of the previous day's performance from a portfolio that was leaning against the tree. "Which do you prefer?"

Chakotay found it difficult to choose between the two. While he was thinking it over, Jeshun took a moment to see who had accompanied him.

"Well, hello young one," said Jeshun.

"You remember me!"

"You're very hard to forget," said Jeshun, reaching out a finger to touch one of Naomi's forehead horns.

She giggled and said, "They're from my father." Her next words came out in a rush. "I haven't met him yet. I was born on our ship. We were supposed to be home before I was born, but we got lost. We made a scan of your picture of me to send to him in a datastream so he could see it too."

"Did you, now? You didn't want to wait until you got home to show him?"

"We don't know when we're going get home, so my Mom decided to send it now," said Naomi.

Feeling that the conversation was getting into dangerous waters regarding knowledge of the map, Samantha Wildman said, "Actually, we're hoping to be home in about six months, but you never know."

"Oh, you'll be home. I'm sure of it," said Jeshun.

This part of the conversation had caught Janeway's ear, and she felt a shiver at the thought that this old man might be a conduit for the Mapkeepers. Although she really didn't believe in signs and portents, some very small part of her that felt otherwise hoped that this was a good one.

Jeshun continued to chat with Naomi. "Now, young one, tell me. How is our friend the bird doing? Is he happy in his new home?"

"Oh yes, he likes it there. All my friends say he's a special bird."

"Good," said Jeshun. "I thought he was very special when I saw him. I know you did too." Naomi nodded.

Chakotay, meanwhile, had noticed Janeway's fascination with the two paintings of the Surketa dancers and that made up his mind for him. "Jeshun," he said, "I like both of them too much to choose one over the other, so you've made two sales today." He turned to Janeway and said quietly so that no one would overhear, "One of them is yours, Kathryn. Your choice."

Janeway smiled and squeezed his hand. "Early birthday present?"

"Something like that," Chakotay said.

"It was a fortunate day when you crossed my path," Jeshun said to Chakotay. "You're going to make me a rich old man."

"How much?" asked Chakotay.

"Ten lekmas apiece, and I'll even throw in a small picture of the boy who sold me my canvases." Jeshun started to look for the small painting while Chakotay took currency from his pocket and counted out twenty lekmas.

"Ah yes, here it is," he said, withdrawing a small canvas not much larger than a padd from one of his bags. "Such an interesting face, don't you think?" he asked as he handed the picture to the Captain.

Janeway gasped. She found herself looking at a portrait of Icheb. Chakotay paid Jeshun for the two paintings he had asked the artist to finish for him. While Jeshun was wrapping them up, Chakotay came over to see what had so startled the Captain.

Janeway's reaction had not gone unnoticed by the artist. "You know this young man?"

"This portrait reminds me of someone who left our ship about three weeks ago to pursue an unexpected opportunity," said Janeway. "I don't know if this is the same person, but the likeness does suggest it."

"Captain, it's possible it could be him," said Chakotay. "He had access to some pretty sophisticated means of travel."

"Can I see, Captain?" asked Naomi. Janeway showed her the portrait with a look that Naomi understood to mean that this was part of the "secret" she wasn't supposed to talk about.

"I remember him," she said. "Seven's friend."

"Seven?" asked Jeshun. "That's an unusual name."

"She's an unusual person," said Samantha Wildman.

"To put it mildly," said Chakotay, suppressing a laugh.

"And you're sure you're willing to part with this?" asked Janeway.

"Oh, yes, you may have it," said Jeshun. "I can paint another one anytime from the sketch I made of the young man."

"Thank you," said Janeway. "His friend Seven misses him very much, and I'm sure she would appreciate having this likeness to remember him by."

"Then take it with my good wishes," said Jeshun. "Perhaps you will see him again."

"Perhaps," said Janeway. "That's another one of those things that one never knows about." She looked at Chakotay and the Wildmans and asked, "Are we ready to be getting back? There's a lot still to be done before we leave tomorrow."

The four of them made their farewells to Jeshun, and started back to the beam down point to return to _Voyager_. Janeway made a mental note to herself to mention the conversation with Jeshun to Tuvok, and listen to his ideas about psionic resonators and what he might consider to be possible benign uses for them.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 10:  
**Sunday, February 13, 2377  
Stardate 54118.8

Bridge, 0841 hours:

"Go to Blue Alert."

"Blue Alert, aye," responded Tuvok. "All hands report to Code Blue stations." Tuvok monitored his console to track the various departments reporting their status.

"Antigrav thrusters online," called out Torres from the engineering station to Janeway's right.

Paris entered several commands into the helm and then said, "Inertial dampeners to flight configuration, impulse drive on standby."

After one final check of his console, Tuvok said, "All stations report ready."

"Take us up, Mr. Paris," said Janeway.

"We have liftoff," said Paris. "You might want to tell the Tarkada we're coming."

"Oh, I think they know, Paris," said Chakotay. "They've had us on their sensors for the past couple hours."

"Riiiight," said Paris, drawing out the word. He turned his entire attention back to his console as the rest of the bridge crew silently watched the surface of Sirana recede.

"That was one of the more interesting places we've been," said Janeway finally, remembering the picnic in a flower-filled meadow and the Surketa dancers, "but I'm glad to be underway again. Harry, have you been scanning for the frequencies Tuvok found in the map?"

"Scans are underway, but I don't think we'll get very much useful information until we're out in open space again. There's too much electromagnetic interference from Sirana's planetary communications grid."

"I suspected that might be the case. Keep an eye on your readings, and let me know the minute you get something. In the meantime, transmit our course heading to the Tarkada."

"Transmitting... and done," said Kim. "They've acknowledged."

"Good. Tom, set a course for the Alpha Quadrant, warp six and engage."

"Course laid in and engaged."

Paris then shocked everyone on the bridge by starting to sing. "On the road again, goin' places that I've never been, seein' things that I may never see again," he warbled with a country twang, obviously making another one of his obscure 20th century references.

"_Mr. Paris_," came the stern warning from behind the tactical station.

"Oh, you just don't know how to appreciate good country music, Tuvok. Lighten up."

Janeway struggled to keep the amusement out of her voice as she said, "Tom, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm for your job, I think you'd better confine your singing to Talent Night, for the sake of Tuvok's peace of mind."

"Yes, Ma'am," Paris turned and winked at her. The bridge crew burst out laughing, except for Tuvok.

Janeway just smiled and rolled her eyes at Chakotay as she stood and said, "I'll be in my Ready Room, where I understand it's quiet. You have the bridge." There were a few more chuckles.

"Captain?" Kim called out.

Janeway stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Kim. "Harry?"

"Do you think we'll find the rest of the map?"

She held up crossed fingers on both hands, and again the entire bridge crew except for one laughed. Janeway then turned and disappeared into the ready room.

--

Bridge, 1423 hours:

"Captain to the Bridge."

The Ready Room door opened and Janeway crossed the command deck to Kim's station.

"Found something, Harry?"

"I think so, Captain. It's pretty faint, but one of the map frequencies is directly along our flight path."

"All right, then. We'll continue along the same heading, but let me know if your readings show that we need to divert course. I want that signal's exact location pinpointed as soon as possible."

"Acknowledged."

Janeway walked back to her command chair and opened the console between her and Chakotay's seats as she sat down. She pulled up Harry's readings and compared them to the set of signals they had gleaned from Tuvok's study of the map.

Chakotay leaned over the console and spoke quietly to Janeway. "It's genuine, Captain."

"Oh?"

At seeing Janeway's raised eyebrows and questioning facial expression, Chakotay hastened to explain. "I asked B'Elanna to attach a ring to the top of the beacon locator device earlier today so I could wear it on a cord around my neck. The uniform tee shirt will hold it against my chest, and I won't get a rash from the surgical adhesive the Doctor uses to attach it. I don't think the adhesive's designed to keep something constantly attached to my skin. The locator's already been programmed with every map frequency Tuvok's ever found, so I figured it might be a good idea to wear it at all times. Those two quadlets could be anywhere."

"And you were going to clear it with me... when?"

"Captain! I only got the locator back when B'Elanna brought it to me at lunch time a little over an hour ago. I haven't had the chance to bring it up until now."

"I'll let it go this time, Chakotay. Actually, it's a good idea, and I certainly would have approved it had you come to me beforehand. I don't mind your initiative, but I like to stay on top of everything going on around me." She paused for a moment and then said, "You know, we've had this conversation before."

Chakotay's face fell. "That we have."

Janeway moved quickly to reassure him. "Chakotay, I trust you and I trust your instincts. I'm just more comfortable with knowing everything is under control."

"Kathryn, you would have made a lousy Maquis," said Chakotay with a grin.

Janeway smirked at him, leaned back in her chair and said, "Just tell the nice career 'Fleet officer how you know the signal is genuine."

"Same way I could tell with the beacon signal – the locator vibrates. In this case, it's not as intense as a full signal would be, but it's some kind of verification, at least for now. It'll do until we have a specific frequency for this Portal space."

"Captain, I have the source of the signal. It's on the edge of our enhanced long-range sensors," said Kim.

"Let's see it."

The viewscreen showed a grainy picture of a large pockmarked asteroid with what looked like abandoned excavation equipment on its surface.

"Can you clear it up, Harry?"

"I'm trying, Captain." Kim input a few new commands that had been programmed specifically for the enhanced sensors, and the asteroid on the viewscreen came into pinpoint sharp resolution.

"Nice work, Harry," said Chakotay.

"Don't thank me, Commander. Thank the Tarkada the next time you talk to them," said Kim. "This is the result of the sensor enhancements they shared with us."

"Captain," said Chakotay, "it looks like a mining colony to me. That rock's almost big enough to classify as a planetoid, so they must be getting enough ore out of it to make mining profitable. It's odd that they would abandon it." He turned to Ops. "Harry, are you reading any lifesigns?"

"None, but that's a difficult reading to get at this distance, even with the enhancements."

"It may have been abandoned," said Janeway. The surface we can see looks pretty well torn up. How long until we reach it?"

"Roughly three hours at our present speed."

"Orders, ma'am?" asked Paris.

"Maintain present course and speed, Tom," said Janeway. "I want more definitive lifesign readings before we even consider setting foot on that chunk of rock."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Harry, continuous scans until we're certain it's abandoned, and patch in astrometrics. I want Seven keeping an eye on this as well."

"Aye, Captain."

The bridge crew settled in to wait for the results from the scan of the asteroid. After about a half hour without any change, Chakotay leaned over the console and said softly to Janeway, "Kathryn, could I see you in my office?"

Janeway was a little put out by her first officer's use of her name on the bridge, but since no one had overheard Chakotay, she decided she would let the breach of protocol go and just assume that he wanted to discuss something too personal to go into on the bridge.

She stood and said, "I have a matter to discuss with the Commander in his office. Tuvok, you have the bridge." Chakotay stood and they got on the turbolift together.

A message popped up on Paris's console: _That's what you get for singing Billy Wilson on the bridge, Captain Proton._

Paris commed back: _That's Willie Nelson, oh faithful sidekick, and the Captain thought it was funny._

_Yeah, but Tuvok didn't._

_Tuvok doesn't think anything is funny._

_Maybe it's time to tweak a few temple monks again, _commed Kim.

_Ixnay on the onksmay. I'm in enough trouble already, Harry._

_So you don't think Tuvok would enjoy seeing a conga line when the chanting gets a little dull in the temple of T'Panit? What about that chicken dance you've been telling me about?_

The image that popped into Paris's mind so amused him that he gave a snort of laughter before he was able catch himself.

"Mr. Paris."

"Yes, Tuvok."

"I can have you relieved of duty if you are unable to keep your mind on what you are supposed to be doing."

"That won't be necessary, sir," said Paris.

"See to it that it isn't."

"Yes, sir."

A message popped up on Kim's console: _Harry? You're on._

_--_

Chakotay's office, 1503 hours:

"I was a little shocked at first, to say the least," said Janeway as she walked through the door to Chakotay's office. "That's really pushing it, even for Tom."

"You have to admit it was funny, though," said Chakotay. "He's no different from any hotshot pilot I've ever met. They're all a little cocky and like pushing the limits."

"Or in Tom's case, pushing Tuvok's buttons."

Chakotay guffawed. "And Tuvok, of course, is the perfect straight man."

Janeway snickered and then said, "And yet, Tuvok seems to like serving with humans. At least, that's the impression I've gotten from him over the years. I guess he prefers a little variety in his day."

"And Tom Paris is just the one to give it to him," Chakotay replied with a chuckle.

Janeway made herself comfortable in a chair and then asked, "Chakotay, what did you ask me down here to talk about?"

"Nothing, actually." He unwrapped the two paintings from Jeshun and set them next to each other on the couch. "You never got a chance yesterday to pick out which one of these you'd like. We have about two and half hours until we reach the asteroid, so I figured now might be a good time to do this."

"You're right about that. Believe it or not, I'm all caught up on reading reports for the moment, and I wasn't looking forward to just sitting on the bridge doing nothing for the next couple of hours, so let me see..." Janeway stood and walked over to view the paintings from across the room. After several moments of thought, she said, "That one," as she pointed to the painting of the female dancers being held aloft by their partners. "It reminds me of my dance recitals for some reason, although we never did anything quite like that. I'm glad I went."

"I'm glad you were able to see them, Kathryn. I got a message earlier from Samantha telling me that Naomi has talked about almost nothing else since we got back. Well, that and the bird."

Janeway smiled at hearing that. "Naomi's at about the same age I was when I started ballet. If we really do get home in six months, maybe she'll want to take lessons. I've certainly never regretted it."

"Speaking of getting home in six months, what do you make of this?" asked Chakotay as he handed the small portrait of Icheb to the Captain.

"I think we've got a guardian angel, Chakotay," said Janeway. "I knew it was him the instant I saw the picture, but I didn't want to let too much information slip in case someone was eavesdropping. Fortunately, Naomi picked up on that."

"Do you really think Jeshun was a conduit for the map? This would certainly seem to suggest it."

"It looks that way, and I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea," said Janeway.

"What did Tuvok have to say about it? Have you discussed it with him yet?"

"Last night," said Janeway, "and he was certain that some kind of real-time telepathy was involved. When I voiced my concern, he said it was undoubtedly not as intense for Jeshun as the way the map possessed both him and Tom on our trip through the Second Portal. He surmised that Jeshun had suffered no lasting harmful effects, based on his conversation with him yesterday."

"I don't know," said Chakotay with a shudder. "It feels a little too much like alien possession to me, or at least like what I experienced with Riley's people three and a half years ago when they used me to reactivate that Borg cube. How do we know that these Mapkeepers won't pull something like that?"

"I raised that thought with Tuvok, and he didn't think it would be an issue. He said he hasn't sensed anything so far in his experience with the map that's even the least bit malevolent or manipulative. He described his possession on the bridge as being more like a conduit for an intelligence greater than his own than anything else."

"Makes me glad I'm not a telepath," said Chakotay.

"I'm inclined to agree with you," said Janeway, "which should come as no surprise, since you're the one who's taken me to task on several occasions for not being able to let go of staying in control."

They shared a laugh, and then Chakotay said, "Getting back to Icheb, didn't he say something to you when we were ready to go through the First Portal about not being able to go through the portals? How is it then that he could have been on Sirana?"

"That's the big mystery," said Janeway. "Icheb told me that he had to escape the Portal, and that no one ever returns once they enter its grasp," Janeway said. "I have no idea what he meant by that, except to say that obviously, it's a one-way trip. Maybe that's the trick – he can travel anywhere he wants to in normal space, provided he doesn't go through the Portal into any kind of alternate reality."

"Or maybe he's not supposed to pass through any of the Portals at all, no matter what kind of space is on the other side - normal or otherwise. They might have some kind of adverse effect on him."

"I don't think there's any way for us to even guess at any of that until we go through more of them," said Janeway. "Maybe we'll never know, but at least this time, he was clearly there for us, and for that, I'm grateful."

"Amen to that."

"In the meantime, we have this picture to remember him by," said Janeway with a sigh as she stroked the cheek in the portrait. "I'd better get it to Seven." Janeway rose and headed for the door.

Chakotay picked up the painting Janeway had selected and said, "I'd like to drop this off at your quarters before I head back to the bridge."

"Fine," answered Janeway. "Just use your override and leave it next to my desk."

Chakotay nodded as Janeway left on her way to astrometrics to take Jeshun's portrait of Icheb to Seven.

--

Astrometrics, 1521 hours:

Seven turned as the astrometrics doors opened to admit Janeway. "Captain. I was not expecting you to request an update this soon. There is little new information."

"Seven, that's not why I'm here. I came to bring you this," Janeway said as she handed Icheb's portrait to the former drone.

Seven looked at her with surprise. "Where..."

"On Sirana. The same man who painted Naomi's portrait also did this. He told Chakotay that he'd met a young man that he'd never seen before on the planet. Apparently, Icheb sold him a bagful of the same plastic canvas he likes to paint on, and the quadlet was concealed inside it. Tuvok thinks that the Mapkeepers used Icheb to somehow prepare the artist to serve as a conduit for getting the quadlet safely to us."

"Inefficient, but effective," said Seven. "There was no indication in the quadlet from the Tarkada of where the away team should begin their search for additional pieces of the map."

"So we have some unexpected good luck from a well-deserved shore leave, plus we also know that Icheb is alive and well. He said that his place was here in the Delta Quadrant and that the knowledge in the skywall would enable him to curb the influence of the Borg. Still, I had my doubts when he asked that I let him go after he came back to help us get though the First Portal, but it looks like they were unfounded."

"You could have kept him here," said Seven, with petulance.

"Yes, I could have insisted, but he told me that his place was with Horus," said Janeway. "Seven, it was what he truly wanted, and he said that I should have no regrets about allowing him to leave. Would you honestly want to take his heart's desire away from him?"

"No," said Seven in a very small voice as she struggled to control her emotions.

"Seven, it's all right to miss someone as much as you do Icheb. It isn't very pleasant, but it's also a part of being human." She stroked Icheb's cheek on the drawing Seven held in her hand and said, "Besides, if this portrait is any indication, I don't think we've seen the last of him. He doesn't seem to be able to stay away," Janeway said with a smile in her voice. "Commander Chakotay would be the first one to point out that Icheb's with us in spirit, if not in body."

Seven nodded and gave a small sigh.

"Seven, I have to return to the bridge. Will you be all right?"

"I will adapt."

"Good. You know my door is always open to you if you want to talk."

Seven nodded. Janeway briefly rested her hand on Seven's shoulder to comfort her, and then left astrometrics to return to the bridge. Seven spent a few moments studying Icheb's portrait and then set it down on the console in a place where she could see it while she worked.

--

Bridge, 1711 hours:

"Captain to the bridge."

The Ready Room doors opened and Janeway called out "report" as she took her seat.

"We should be arriving at the asteroid in just under 15 minutes," said Kim. "No lifesigns, but scans indicate a large interior space carved out deep within the rock."

"Looks like you called it, Chakotay," said Janeway, looking at the image displayed on the viewscreen. "That's probably where the miners lived between shifts on the surface." She turned to Ops. "Atmosphere?"

"Oxygen-nitrogen, but thin," said Kim.

"Harry, open a channel to the _Prosperous Journey_."

"Channel open."

Captain Helar's image appeared on the viewscreen. "Captain Janeway, what can I do for you?"

"Helar, we're going to hold position here while I send an away team to investigate a signal coming from that asteroid dead ahead of us."

"Do you require our assistance with the cloaking technology?"

"I don't think so, Helar, at least not yet. It appears to be abandoned."

"Very well. We will stand by, should your situation change."

"Understood. Janeway out." The viewscreen switched back to the view of the asteroid.

"Tom, all stop."

"Coming to all stop, aye."

"Captain, the _Prosperous Journey_ has stopped as well," reported Kim.

"Acknowledged. Chakotay, Tuvok, and Paris - take the _Flyer._" Janeway tapped her combadge."Neelix, report to the shuttlebay for an away mission."

"On my way, Captain."

Janeway directed her orders to Chakotay. "I want an open com link at all times. Use the envirosuits when the four of you beam inside – I don't want to take any chances with that atmosphere."

Understood," said Chakotay. "You heard the Captain. Let's go." The away team stood and left the bridge as their replacements took their stations.

--

The _Delta Flyer_, 1741 hours:

"Everyone ready?" Chakotay asked as he snapped on his Sims beacon and the helmet lights on his environmental suit. After getting acknowledgements all around, he called out, "Computer, energize."

The away team materialized in darkness inside the abandoned asteroid. Chakotay pulled out the enhanced tricorder he had used in Second Portal space, into which Torres had also programmed the additional Third Portal map frequencies shortly after Tuvok had discovered them. "It pays to be prepared," she had said at the time, and Chakotay was grateful that they didn't have to hold up the away mission to take care of it before they left.

He slowly turned in place and noted tables and chairs grouped in one area of the hollowed out circular space where people could take their meals or sit to socialize after their shift was over. He continued to survey his surroundings and found several corridors hewn into the rock that diverged off the central space into which they had transported. He scanned them all.

"Anything?' asked Paris.

"I'm reading a signal down this one," he said, indicating a specific corridor. "Listen, why don't you and Neelix see if you can find the main lighting board and get something working. Even emergency lighting would speed up the process."

"Will do, Commander," said Neelix.

"I'm not reading any other spaces quite as large as this one, so I'm guessing the main controls are probably located somewhere around here," said Chakotay. "Tuvok and I will investigate the signal, but check out the corridors if you don't find a master panel somewhere in here.

"You got it." Paris moved to the perimeter of the central space and began a systematic search with Neelix while Chakotay and Tuvok started off down the narrow corridor in which the enhanced tricorder had picked up a Third Portal map frequency. They moved slowly, sweeping the walls of the passageway from floor to ceiling with their Sims beacons as they looked for anything that could be transmitting the map frequency signal. They passed several smaller passageways branching off to what appeared to be either sleeping quarters or small storage spaces, judging by the readings on the tricorder, but Chakotay ignored them and continued down the long main corridor. He paid close attention to the vibrations he was getting from his locator device. They were growing stronger by the minute.

After about twenty minutes, weak emergency lighting came on. "Is that the best you can do, Paris?" sniped Chakotay over the envirosuit's com system.

"Hey, give me a break, big guy. I'm not the one who damaged the power system."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"They have a computer system in here to keep track of their daily production, among other things. I interfaced my tricorder with it to hack into their logs, and used a translation algorithm to decipher them. I found out some clown dug a little too deep with one of those machines we saw on the surface. It opened a fissure that caused the rock to shift just enough to disrupt the power lines and cause an atmospheric leak. That's why the air's so thin. They didn't have the equipment to seal the fissure and make repairs to the atmospheric and power systems, so they evacuated."

"When?"

"Looks like three days ago."

"Do the logs give any indication of when the miners will be returning?" asked Tuvok.

"Nope, but we weren't planning on sticking around, so what's the difference, Tuvok?"

"The difference, Mr. Paris, is that we are trespassing on what appears to be a private mining operation. We do not know enough about the people who run it to determine whether or not they are hostile, or which nearby inhabited planet might be able to supply the resources for them to conduct their repairs. The miners could return at any time."

"You've made your point, Tuvok," said Chakotay, "but I don't think we're going to be here much longer. Look." Chakotay shone his Sims beacon about ten meters down the corridor to where it dead ended. Partway up the wall was what appeared to be a transceiver with an active circuit light blinking.

"I would advise caution, Commander," said Tuvok. "It may be a trap meant to discourage intruders."

Chakotay moved down the corridor, covering half of the remaining distance to the device until he reached a junction where a secondary corridor crossed the main passageway. He noted that the vibrations of his locator device continued to intensify. "Tuvok, step into this side corridor with me. I think I can run a deep-level tricorder scan from here, and if the transceiver is booby trapped, we'll know soon enough. Did you get that, Paris?

"Got it, Chief. You don't have enough to do without creating a little excitement for yourself."

"Just stay sharp, and can the attempts at humor."

"Yes, _sir_."

Chakotay set the controls on his tricorder for the deep-level scan and then positioned it around the corner next to the wall in the main corridor. He cautiously reached around to tap a key to activate the scan and quickly withdrew his hand. He pressed himself back against the rock wall, not knowing what to expect.

The enhanced tricorder whined for a long moment, and then Chakotay felt a sharp sting against his chest, which caused him to gasp.

"Are you all right, Commander?" asked a worried sounding Neelix.

"I'm fine, everyone. This damn thing on my chest just spiked me and shut itself off. I think if anything was going to explode, it would have by now." Chakotay reached carefully around the corner and retrieved the tricorder. "It's exactly what it appears to be – a transceiver."

Tuvok took the tricorder from Chakotay and studied the readings. "Commander, it would appear that the frequency the transceiver is emitting has changed."

Chakotay took the instrument from Tuvok and verified the change for himself. "Chakotay to Janeway."

"We heard you over the open comlink," said Janeway. "Harry's checking his readings right now."

"Captain, I'm reading a different frequency transmitting from the asteroid as well," said Kim. "I'm also getting warp signatures from three large ships approaching. They'll reach us in about 25 minutes."

"Chakotay, get your team out of there. We'll analyze the rest of your deep scan once you're back aboard _Voyager_."

"Acknowledged. Chakotay to Paris..."

"I heard. Cutting emergency lighting." The interior of the asteroid went dark as Paris called out over the com system in his envirosuit, "Paris to _Delta Flyer_. Lock onto four com signals and beam us aboard."

The away team rematerialized in the cargo area of the _Flyer_. Paris quickly removed his helmet and dashed up the short ladder to the flight deck. He brought the systems back online from stationkeeping mode and ran through the pre-flight check for a quick start. Chakotay and Tuvok removed their envirosuits and then joined the pilot on the flight deck. They took the ops and tactical stations while Neelix remained in the rear compartment and busied himself with putting away the envirosuits.

"Paris to _Voyager_. We're coming in."

"We've kept the lights on for you," said Janeway. "Helar is ready to leave with us soon as you've docked."

"Acknowledged. On our way."

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 11:  
**Monday, February 14, 2377  
Stardate 54121.8

Ready Room, 1055 hours:

"It looked to be a fairly sophisticated operation, Kathryn," said Chakotay from his seat in front of Janeway's desk. "They had living quarters inside the asteroid for their mining crews, and there was also a computer to track their daily production and keep logs. It certainly helped to know the reason they'd evacuated."

"How convenient for us that the mining accident disrupted the power long enough for us to go in and check things out. I'm just sorry that there wasn't a quadlet to bring back," said Janeway.

"Another quadlet certainly would have made our trip to the next Portal a lot easier," said Chakotay. "I guess Harry's right with his 'breadcrumbs' theory. I'm starting to think the series of signals is a trail for us to follow to the next piece of the map. It makes you wonder why the people who scattered the map chose to do it in such a roundabout way, at least in this part of space."

"It does, doesn't it?" 1059 hours – shall we?" Janeway rose from her chair and the two left the Ready Room for the morning briefing.

--

Briefing Room, 1100 hours:

"You shoulda seen it, Harry. There were even old-fashioned supports bracing the ceiling, of all things. The place looked just like one of those ancient 19th century Old West mines out of a history book," said Paris.

"Except, of course, for the atmospheric controls and computer system," said Kim. "Really, Tom, what did you expect?"

Paris was about to answer when the briefing room doors opened to admit Janeway and Chakotay.

"Shall we get started, everyone? Tuvok, anything new to report with the map?" asked Janeway.

"The star charts on the quadlets remain essentially unchanged. The most significant finding upon renewed study, however, resides with the band of frequencies. There is now one less."

"Let me guess, Tuvok," said Paris. "The one that bit Chakotay when we were inside the asteroid?"

At seeing the puzzled expressions on some of the faces around the table, Chakotay explained. "Tom's referring to the locater device I was wearing. When I ran a deep-level scan on the transceiver we found, the device spiked and gave me a shock. Then it shut itself off."

"You'd better let me have a look at it, Chakotay," said Torres. "The heat from the welding torch where I attached the ring to it might have affected the circuitry."

"That thought had occurred to me, too, B'Elanna," said Chakotay. He turned to the Captain. "Permission to go to Engineering after the briefing to get this checked out?"

"Granted," said Janeway.

"You'd better get permission to stop by sickbay as well," said the Doctor.

"I feel fine, Doctor," countered Chakotay.

"I'm sure you do. Just the same, I'd like to check you over," said the EMH.

"I think it's a good idea, Chakotay," said Janeway. "Stop off at sickbay on your way back from engineering," She waited until Chakotay acknowledged the order and then addressed Paris, saying, "And Tom, to answer your question - yes, it's the same frequency that led us to this mining colony. Apparently, it's the map's way of letting us know we no longer need to scan for that particular signal, but I don't want to remove it from the series we're looking for just yet."

Chakotay spoke up. "Harry, I think you were right when you said these signals were meant to lead us to the next quadlet. If my guess is correct, the signal the transceiver started emitting after I ran the deep level scan is the next 'breadcrumb'."

"Which would be, Seven?" asked Janeway.

Seven stood and walked over to the LCARS wall monitor and brought up a schematic. "Using the Borg-enhanced astrometric sensors to scan for the new frequency, I detected an uninhabited P-class planet approximately 0.642 light years distant. It will take roughly five and a half hours to reach at warp factor 8, and will also require a slight diversion from our present course."

"Class P - time to get out the long underwear, Tom," said Kim. "For a big ski buff like you, this away mission should be a snap."

"Thanks, Harry," said Paris. "Maybe I'll let you go in my place."

"I think not," said Tuvok. "Eyfrod specified certain individuals must always serve as the map team, and that includes Mr. Paris."

"Sorry, Tom," said Janeway. "We'll have a better idea of the exact conditions on the surface once we're in orbit. Seven will transfer her coordinates to the helm. When you have them, set course for the planet, warp factor 8. Harry, advise Helar of our new heading. That's it for now. Dismissed."

--

Bridge, 1401 hours:

"Captain, I'm picking up a new map frequency in addition to the one for the planet," said Kim. "It's roughly 17 light minutes dead ahead."

"Onscreen." A battered derelict buoy appeared on the viewscreen. "What are sensors showing, Harry?" asked Janeway

"Nothing that poses a threat. It appears to be a buoy with a powerful transceiver. Readings show it's safe to bring onboard, but I wouldn't suggest trying to grab it at warp, considering the shape it's in."

"Signal Helar that we're dropping to impulse to bring it aboard. Adjust speed and beam it to cargo bay one on my mark."

Kim transmitted the message. "Done. He's standing by to drop to impulse."

"Understood," said Janeway. "Tom, once we have it, signal Helar and then resume course and speed."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Coming into transport range," said Kim.

"Ready... mark."

A moment later, Kim reported, "Object is in cargo bay one, still transmitting."

"Tom..." began the Captain.

"Signaling... and resuming course and speed."

"Janeway to Torres."

"Torres here."

"B'Elanna, Harry just beamed a derelict buoy into cargo bay one. It's transmitting one of the map frequencies, but not the same one as the planet we're headed for. Take a team and get down there. See what you can make of it."

"Acknowledged. Torres out."

--

Cargo Bay, 1443 hours:

"Torres to Janeway."

"Janeway here. What have you got, B'Elanna?"

"The buoy casing shows residual traces from a severe ion storm. It looks like that's what damaged it and dragged it here from wherever it was. We were able to open the housing without damaging anything, and found a small nav computer inside. Apparently, that was what the people who created it used to keep the buoy in place once they deployed it."

"Any indication of where it's from originally?" asked Janeway.

"The computer's sensors are damaged, but we still may be able extract some useful data. I could use Seven's help with this."

"Understood."

"What about the transceiver, Captain? Do you want me to shut it down? Right now it looks like we'd have no trouble reactivating it, so I don't foresee any problem with doing that."

"Use your best judgment, B'Elanna, and keep me advised. Janeway out."

--

Bridge, immediately following:

"Janeway to Seven of Nine. Report to Lieutenant Torres in cargo bay one to assist with data extraction."

"Understood."

Janeway leaned back in her chair and sighed. "What was it Horus said about a gauntlet? I guess this qualifies."

"You'll get no argument from me," said Chakotay.

"It's not," Tom's voice singsonged from the helm.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not a gauntlet, Chief. Can't be - no swamps. Horus said there would be lots of swamps where we were going," said Paris, "and lots of nice hungry kesto."

"Just turn around and concentrate on your driving, Paris," said Chakotay.

Paris heaved a big sigh for show and turned his attention back to the helm.

--

At the P-Class planet:

The next few hours on the bridge passed uneventfully. Finally, Kim looked up from his console and said, "Captain, we'll be coming up on the planet in roughly 11 minutes. Shall I signal Helar?"

"Do it, Harry. Let him know that we'll be going into orbit, and ask him to stand by."

"Acknowledged."

--

10 minutes later:

_Voyager _reached the Class-P world and entered orbit. Kim ran intensive scans as the ship circled the planet.

"Harry?"

"My readings are showing 95 of the surface covered with ice and snow. Surface temperature -27.2C at the equator, considerably lower near the poles. Three continent-sized land masses, five major mountain ranges, several smaller chains. Some indigenous plant and animal life. Oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere with trace elements within tolerance, thin but breathable."

"How thin?" asked Janeway.

"Comparable to higher elevations on Earth. It's pretty thin, but a definite improvement over what was inside that mining asteroid."

"Have you localized the frequency yet?"

"It's on the other side of the planet from our current position, Captain. I got a clear signal from the surface of a glacier as we passed over. It's located in a narrow ravine between two large mountains in one of the smaller chains, far enough back from the leading edge of the glacier for a safe beamdown."

"Oh, good," said Paris. "You don't need a pilot."

"But the away team does need a field medic," said Janeway, "just to be on the safe side with that atmosphere and those temperatures. Neelix will sit this one out, Tom, not you."

"It won't be so bad, Tom," said Kim. It's only -39.3C where you're going."

"Thanks, Harry."

"The thermal suits should offer enough protection from the cold, but I want the Doctor to inject all of you with tri-ox compound to compensate for the atmosphere before you leave. Tom, you'll carry extra vials in your medkit in case it's needed."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Chakotay, Tuvok, Paris, report to Sickbay for your injections and then suit up. You've got just enough time to get yourselves ready and into the transporter room for the beamdown once we reach the other side of the planet and establish a geosynchronous orbit. I'd like to get this taken care of and _Voyager_ back underway as soon as possible. Keep an open com link."

The three acknowledged Janeway's orders and left to prepare for their away mission.

--

On the surface of the glacier, 1806 hours:

The away team materialized in the middle of a vast windswept glacial field, with only ice and snow visible to the horizon in all directions.

"Wherever that 5 is that's not in this deepfreeze, it definitely isn't anywhere around here," said Paris.

"My guess is at the tropical equator, where it's a balmy -27.2C. Tough luck, Paris," said Chakotay with a wicked laugh.

"Yeah, and B'Elanna doesn't care for your twisted sense of humor, either, Chief."

Chakotay chose to ignore the comment and turned to Tuvok, who had walked on ahead for several meters. "Reading anything, Tuvok?"

"The source of the signal is directly in front of me, buried approximately 25.7 centimeters below the surface of the ice," said Tuvok.

"Everyone take out their hand phasers," said Chakotay. "We're going to get whatever's down there out and back to _Voyager_ for analysis. I want B'Elanna to have a look at it. Think you can melt the ice around it without frying the machinery, Paris?"

"Watch and learn."

"Tuvok, configure your tricorder to run a deep-level scan at this location. My beacon device ramped up its vibrations the minute we beamed down, so maybe there's something more down there than just a transceiver."

Tuvok entered the commands for the scan into the tricorder, activated it, and then set the instrument down on the ice at his feet. The three aimed their phasers around the point in the ice under which the transceiver was encased and fired. The glacier quickly melted and then vaporized around the device as the away team continued to fire. Once they had cleared away enough ice, Chakotay knelt down on one knee and quickly pulled the transceiver out of the small liquid-filled crater they had created before the remaining water it was sitting in had a chance to refreeze. He felt the vibrations of the beacon locator intensify yet again as his hands made contact with the device.

As the First Officer set the transceiver next to him and stood, Tuvok's tricorder began to emit a continuous ear-splitting whine. The Vulcan reached down to grab the instrument up off the ice to turn it off, and Chakotay felt his locator device deactivate.

A loud cracking sound carried across the surface of the glacier and echoed between the mountains as a large fissure opened up several meters from the away team's position. The wind increased its intensity, and a particularly heavy gust was followed moments later by an ominous low-level rumble from behind them.

"Oh no," Paris said as he whipped around to look in the direction of the rumble. He watched as an enormous slab of snow halfway up one of the mountains on either side of the glacier shifted and began to move. "Avalanche!"

Chakotay bent down and grabbed the transceiver with one hand, activating his communicator with the other. "Away team to _Voyager_. Emergency beamout – now!"

They dematerialized short moments before half a mountainside's worth of snow, uprooted trees, and rocks swept through where they had just been standing.


	6. Act 4

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**ACT 4**

Transporter Room, immediately following:

The tricorder was still whining as the team materialized on the transporter pads. Tuvok immediately shut it off, to everyone's relief.

"Transporter room, do you have them?" Janeway's demanded over the com.

"Everyone's safe and accounted for, Captain," said Chakotay. "We have the transceiver. I'm going to take a moment to get out of this thermal suit and then get it to B'Elanna for analysis."

"She and Seven are still working with Vorik in cargo bay one. I'll meet you there."

"Understood. Chakotay out."

--

Cargo Bay One, 1837 hours:

"So Tom almost turned into a Paris-sicle," said Kim, who had joined Torres and Seven in the cargo bay when his shift had ended shortly after the emergency beamout.

"That's popsicle, Starfleet, and it's not funny, unless being buried under tons of snow is your idea of a good time," said Torres.

"Sounds like there's a really good story in there somewhere," said Kim.

"There is, but give Tom a chance to warm up before you go asking him about it. It's not one of his happier memories of Academy days."

The cargo bay doors opened to admit the away team, minus the thermal suits. Chakotay set the transceiver down on top of one of several cargo containers Torres had pulled together so she would have a worktable for the buoy and her equipment.

"I heard you had a little excitement on the surface," said Torres an instant before the cargo bay doors opened to admit the Captain.

Janeway charged into the bay and barked, "Report."

"Nearest I can figure, the minute I got the transceiver out of the ice, Tuvok's tricorder set off an avalanche," said Chakotay. "The damned thing started an ear-splitting whine."

"It's possible," said Paris, "but it's actually rare that sound can trigger an avalanche. The wind on that glacier was pretty stiff. A cornice at the leeward side of the peak or maybe one of the ridges might have broken off and landed on a slab of heavily toploaded snow. The snowpack was probably highly unstable to begin with. I just got a quick glance at the incline of that slope as we were beaming out, but it looked to be right in the 'sweet spot.'"

"Sweet spot?" asked Kim.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, if you'd spent your time on the Academy downhill ski team instead of editing the student newspaper, you'd know these things," said Paris.

"All right, Tom, I'll bite," said Kim. "Enlighten us."

"38°."

Kim heaved a large sigh and rolled his eyes.

"I'll make it easy for you, Harry. The vast majority of avalanches happen on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees, and a disproportionately large number of those happen between 35 and 40 degrees. 38 degrees seems to be the magic number."

"And you know this because..." said Kim.

"Harry..." Torres said, flashing him a warning look.

"It's okay, B'Elanna," said Paris. He turned back to Kim and said, "I got buried in an avalanche, Harry. Lucky for me, my friends were there to dig me out. I made up my mind there and then that if I was going to keep skiing, I'd better know a lot more about how to avoid avalanches than I did my senior year at the Academy." He turned to Janeway and asked, "Captain? Do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"The next time you send me down to a P-Class planet, have my friend the editor over here check out our beamdown point a little more thoroughly?"

"All right, Tom, you've earned it," answered Janeway. "Your quick thinking got the away team out of danger."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Paris, "and to get back to what I started to say, it wasn't necessarily the tricorder that triggered the avalanche. We don't know the weather history on the planet for the last few months before we got there. The type of snow that fell during that time might have created weak layers in the snowpack. It could have been ready to go by the time we got there. The glacier gave a loud crack when it opened up a fissure near us, and it's more likely that's what caused the slide.

"Oh?"

"Believe it or not, I've read in 20th century history books about soldiers fighting mountain campaigns in the Alps during World War I. Their gunshots set off avalanches that ended up killing thousands by war's end. If a sound is going to do it, it usually has to be sharp and explosive," said Paris.

"He could be right about that, Captain," said Chakotay. "That crack was pretty loud, and the mountains on either side of us probably amplified it as it reverberated back and forth up the sides."

"Captain," said Torres, "I'd like to check out Tuvok's tricorder, just to be on the safe side for future away missions."

"Do it."

Tuvok handed his instrument to Torres, who motioned in Vorik's direction to get the engineer's attention. "Vorik, run a diagnostic to see what caused it to malfunction," she said, as she turned back to study the recovered transceiver, which was still broadcasting a signal.

"Acknowledged." He came over and took Tuvok's tricorder from her and set it down on one of the cargo containers to run the test.

"It might not be a malfunction," said Chakotay. "In both instances, our tricorders began to whine after we'd initiated a deep-level scan when a transceiver was broadcasting one of the map frequencies."

"Sounds more like a pattern than a malfunction," said Janeway. "Tuvok?"

"If there is no problem with the equipment, then I would tend to agree with the Commander," said Tuvok. "However, there are still several map frequencies to locate. If this phenomenon occurs yet again, it would certainly confirm a pattern."

"Maybe we can figure that out right now," said Torres. "Vorik, your results?"

"The tricorder is operating within acceptable parameters. The diagnostic showed no malfunction."

"What do you have in mind, B'Elanna?" asked Janeway.

"We haven't done a deep-level scan on the buoy yet," said Torres. "Let's turn its transceiver back on and see what happens."

Vorik turned the buoy's transceiver on and then entered the necessary commands into Tuvok's tricorder to run the scan. He was about to initiate it when Paris turned to Torres and asked, "Aren't you going to turn off the one we brought back?"

"There's an idea," said Torres. "Vorik, run the deep-level scan on my mark while I take continuous readings on the transceiver the away team brought back. Both of them are broadcasting map frequencies. I'd like to see if there's some connection here we've been missing."

"Yes, Lieutenant," Vorik replied. He positioned himself in front of the buoy with Tuvok's tricorder at the ready and waited for Torres's order.

"Mark."

Both engineers activated their instruments. After a few moments, Tuvok's tricorder began emitting the same kind of high-pitched whine as it had previously. Chakotay walked over to satisfy his curiosity by reading over Torres's shoulder while she kept her eyes on the readout for the transceiver from the planet. Just as Vorik was about to ask if he should turn Tuvok's tricorder off, the pitch of the whine dipped and then the noise stopped on its own.

He looked over at Torres and said, "My readings fluctuated momentarily after Mr. Tuvok's tricorder began to whine."

"So did mine," said Torres. She walked over to where Vorik was standing next to the buoy and compared the readings on both instruments. "Both tricorders now show the transceiver broadcasting the same frequency as the buoy." She looked over at the readings on Tuvok's tricorder and said, "The buoy's frequency is fundamentally unchanged, but I'm also seeing evidence of a buried signal. It's too submerged to make any kind of sense out of it."

"A simple relay." All eyes turned in Seven's direction.

"Each frequency leads to the next one in an ordered progression," the former drone said. "Once each transceiver is located, its programming resets the device to broadcast the next frequency in the sequence, but they must all be within range of one other for the entire sequence to work properly."

"I'm thinking that if we return the buoy to the exact point in space it came from, it might roll over to the new frequency it's supposed to broadcast without any help from us," said Janeway. "That's probably what the submerged signal is."

"I wonder how it knows to do that," said Kim.

"My beacon locator has been the one constant in the mix so far," said Chakotay. "There may be some kind of telepathic control involved similar to the map, but I don't think so. My guess is that as the designated Mapfinder, my being within range with the beacon locator triggers the process, and each transceiver has to be within range of the next one in the series to verify the connection and then make the switch over."

"Makes sense," said Torres.

"This buoy was evidently displaced from its assigned position in the sequence by the ion storm for which Lieutenant Torres found traces in its casing," said Tuvok. "Logic would suggest that the away team encountered the last two transceivers out of order. The disruption in the chain of relays no doubt triggered the apparent tricorder malfunction to indicate a problem."

"That might account for the whine," said Janeway, "but there's no way to know for certain until we find the next transceiver. B'Elanna, how are you coming along with deciphering the readings in the buoy's nav computer?"

"We're still reconstructing the data, Captain," said Torres. "I'd give it another few hours, and then we should have enough to work with."

"Advise me the moment you have it," said Janeway. "I'll let Helar know that we're going to hold position here until we have a clear indication of a new heading to follow. In the meantime, I suggest we all leave B'Elanna, Seven and Vorik to their work. The rest of you are dismissed."

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 12:  
**Tuesday, February 15, 2377  
Stardate 54124.5

The Ready Room, 1037 hours:

"I should have a better idea after this morning's briefing, Helar," said Janeway as she spoke to the _Prosperous Journey's_ captain via com link. "My engineering and astrometrics officers managed to reconstruct most of the data from the buoy's damaged navigation computer. I've given them time to analyze it for a probable heading, and they'll be reporting their findings to me shortly."

Janeway watched on her monitor as Helar shifted in his seat and asked, "And this roundabout way of locating the pieces of the map for the next wormhole does not annoy you, Captain Janeway?"

"Truthfully, captain to captain?" Helar nodded. "I'm finding it pretty tedious," said Janeway, "but Tuvok has a theory that says things were done this way to keep the map out of the hands of those who would misuse it. Like it or not, that's a plausible reason and I've decided to accept it."

"Then if that indeed is the purpose for this series of relays, I suppose we should both be grateful."

"Yes," said Janeway, "but not nearly as grateful as we will be when _Voyager_ and _Prosperous Journey_ make it through the next Portal."

"Excellent, Captain Janeway," said Helar with a laugh.

Janeway smiled back and said, "I'll have my Operations officer get back to your pilot with our heading once we have it. Janeway out."

--

Briefing Room, 1114 hours:

"We've made the obvious guess as to what the next frequency might be by eliminating the three already broadcast," said Torres, as she stood next to the wall monitor in the briefing room. "The trick is going to be finding the remaining two. I've narrowed down the buoy's point of origin to somewhere near three consecutive inhabited systems in the sector we've just entered." She brought up a schematic on the wall monitor.

"Distance to the first one?" asked Janeway.

".6 light years from our current position, Captain," said Torres as she entered commands to highlight the three systems in question. "I've assumed for now that Seven's correct about the buoy having to be within range of the next transceiver to be able to switch frequencies. Fortunately, the three systems are fairly close to each another – it's about 1.3 light years to the farthest one. They're all on the same general course we've been following and only slightly off our heading."

"Good work," said Janeway. "Chakotay, we'll need your beacon locator for what I have in mind."

"You're going to use it with the buoy," he said. "Once we reach the coordinates it came from, you're hoping the locator will trigger the verification process and switch over to the next frequency."

"And you got it in one," said Janeway. "You can get the locator back from B'Elanna once we have the new signal." Chakotay nodded his acknowledgement.

She turned to Torres. "B'Elanna, set up the locator next to the buoy. Work with Seven to rig a feed from the external sensors to the buoy's transceiver, and have a monitor ready to signal both Tactical and Ops the instant the frequency switches over. If we can pinpoint the changeover in relation to the coordinates of the P-Class planet, it should give us a rough indication of the transceiver's range."

"My guess is that they're about a light year or so apart, based on the distance between the mining asteroid and 'ice world'," said Paris. "Since there's two frequencies we haven't located yet, simple math would give us an estimate of about two light years to the next quadlet, assuming there's not another hoop for us to jump through when we find the last transceiver."

"My thinking exactly," said Torres.

"Both of you may be right, but I'd still like to confirm your educated guess, Tom," said Janeway. She turned to her chief engineer. "B'Elanna, I'll need you to send the coordinates for the three systems to the helm and Ops." She turned to Kim. "Harry, transmit the location of the three systems and our new heading to the _Prosperous Journey_. Tom, once Harry's done that, set course, warp 8."

"Acknowledged."

"Captain," said Tuvok, "if confirmation of the signal's range does not occur until _Voyager_ reaches the last system, then the search for the buoy's point of origin will run well into beta shift. I would recommend that one of the alpha shift senior officers remain on the bridge until the search is completed, for consistency's sake."

"Are you volunteering to work an extra shift, Tuvok?" asked Kim.

"If you wish to remain on the bridge to monitor the signal changeover, Mr. Kim, I will stand aside for you," said Tuvok.

"It's your call, Harry," said Chakotay, with a wicked grin on his face.

"Tom and I have plans for this evening, Commander," said Kim.

"You must have your evenings mixed up, Harry. I'm spending tonight with B'Elanna," said Paris. One look at Kim's face told Paris he was in for payback, big time.

"Shoulda kept your mouth shut, Starfleet," Torres whispered to Kim, who sat in his place at the table, looking glum.

Janeway decided her ops officer had twisted in the wind long enough and took pity on him. "Actually, it's my call," said Janeway to Chakotay with a twinkle in her eye. "Tuvok, contact your beta shift counterpart. Have him finish your shift for you, and you take his. That should cover us on the signal switchover."

"Acknowledged."

"Harry, I'm letting you off the hook – this time," said Janeway, barely suppressing a smile.

"Thanks, Captain."

"If there's nothing else? Dismissed."

--

Bridge, 1552 hours:

"Anything?" asked Janeway.

"No, Captain," said Kim. "We're practically on top of this system, and not even a blip."

"How far to the next one?"

".32 light years."

"We push on, then," said Janeway. "Tom, maintain course and speed."

"Yes, ma'am."

The bridge crew sat in silence for a few minutes longer until the turbolift opened and discharged the Beta shift crew, with Tuvok in the lead.

"Beta shift already?" asked Paris as Pablo Baytart, his replacement, slid into place.

Janeway stood and said, "Maintain present course and speed, Mr. Baytart, unless Tuvok advises otherwise. He'll have the bridge for this shift."

"Aye, Captain"

Janeway turned to Tactical and said, "I'll be in my ready room, Tuvok. Call me when we get a nibble."

"Acknowledged."

--

Bridge, 1947 hours.

"Captain to the Bridge."

The ready room doors opened and Janeway climbed the steps to the secondary engineering level to join Tuvok behind his tactical console. "What've you got, Tuvok?"

Tuvok moved aside to let Janeway see the switchover data for herself. She compared their present coordinates to those of the P-class ice planet from which the away team had retrieved the buried transceiver.

"It looks like Tom was right -- they're at least a light year apart," said Janeway. She gave the sensor data a closer look and then said, "And I see you already have the new frequency on sensors. Distance?"

Approximately .3 light years," said Tuvok.

"That's a lot closer than expected. Clearly, this transceiver is broadcasting a shorter range signal. Have you pinpointed the location yet?"

"It originates from a Class-D moon orbiting the fifth planet in the last of the three systems Lieutenant Torres located. We should arrive at our destination in two hours and 34 minutes."

"Any of the other planets inhabited?"

"Preliminary scans show pre-warp civilizations on the third and fourth planets of seven in total," said Tuvok. "I would advise any additional scanning be done discreetly using our long-range capabilities, so as not to attract undue attention."

"Good suggestion, Tuvok. Have the helm hold position well outside the system until alpha shift, and run any preliminary scans from there."

"Acknowledged. Once _Voyager_ is on final approach to the moon, Mr. Kim can run any additional scans needed before the map team beams down to retrieve the instrument," said Tuvok.

"Agreed. I'll inform Helar of our plans. I'll need you to advise his pilot when you decide where both ships will hold position once _Voyager_ arrives at the coordinates," said Janeway. "I have a few reports still to look over and then I'll be going off duty. See you in the morning."

"Acknowledged. Good night, Captain."

"Good night, Tuvok." Janeway left the bridge in Tuvok's hands for the remainder of beta shift while she returned to the Ready Room to finish up her day.

* * *

**Third Portal Space, Day 13:  
**Wednesday, February 16, 2377  
Stardate 54127.1

In orbit of the D-Class moon

Ready Room, 0923 hours:

"I don't think Harry's face could have looked any grimmer yesterday when Tuvok told him he could have the extra shift if he wanted it," said Chakotay with a chuckle.

"Well, now you've witnessed Vulcan humor for yourself," said Janeway. "I've served with Tuvok long enough to know that he had no intention of letting anyone else stand beta shift. It was just his way of making Harry squirm a little for having teased a superior officer in the first place."

"Payback? From a Vulcan?" Chakotay was highly amused. "It certainly unsettled Harry. I guess you were right when you said Tuvok likes serving with humans. He certainly tolerates a lot more from Harry and Tom than I would. I'm a little surprised Harry's trusty sidekick didn't bail him out."

"I think Tom was trying to teach him a lesson – never tease our resident Vulcan unless you're willing to pay the consequences. Tom knows exactly how far he can push Tuvok, and Harry doesn't."

"So it's 'baptism by fire,' then."

"I'd say. The 'trial and error' method still works pretty well, even in this advanced day and age."

They shared a laugh and then Chakotay changed the subject, saying, "It didn't take long to find this new transceiver."

"No, surprisingly not," said Janeway. "At least now we know for certain that they have a maximum range of about a light year. Obviously, that gives us a general idea of how far the next one might be outside of this system, and if past experience is any guide, it will probably be along our flight path."

"That would make sense. If the map is supposed to be carried to the Alpha Quadrant, there's not much point in taking a circuitous route, although I probably shouldn't tempt fate by saying that."

"What? Superstitious, Chakotay?"

"Maybe just a little. Just when I think I've got this quadrant figured out..."

"I know, I know – antimatter nebulas and booby-trapped wormholes," said Janeway. "Let's hope we don't get a repeat of either of those twoanytime soon."

"No argument there," said Chakotay, drawing out the first word. He paused for a moment to take a sip from the cup of lastrin Janeway had given him when he had stopped by the ready room to catch up on the previous evening's events after having retrieved his beacon locator from Torres. "So, where is it this time?"

"Somewhere on the surface of the D-Class moon we're scanning right now. Harry hasn't pinpointed an exact location yet," said Janeway, "but he said it looks like it's out in the open.

"If that's the case, we may not have to beam down to retrieve it. Maybe we can use the transporter."

"That's what I was thinking. It would certainly save us some time," said Janeway.

"Captain to the Bridge."

"On our way, Mr. Kim."

--

Bridge, immediately following:

Janeway and Chakotay entered the bridge and walked over to study Kim's readings. Finally, Chakotay said, "Harry, I think you're right. It's just sitting on the surface."

Janeway caught the note of concern in his voice and said, "But..."

"All of the other transceivers have either been part of commonplace technology or buried out of sight," said Chakotay. "This one breaks the pattern. It might be a trap to keep someone from tampering with it."

"I concur," said Tuvok from his station.

"We could beam it into a cargo bay behind a containment field until we're sure it's safe," offered Kim.

"Sounds like a plan, Harry," said the Captain. "Janeway to Torres."

"Torres here."

"B'Elanna, Harry's located the new transceiver, but Chakotay feels we should be cautious, and Tuvok agrees with him. Take a team and set up a multiphase level 10 containment field in cargo bay one, and we'll beam the device inside it on our next flyover."

"Acknowledged. Torres out."

--

Twenty minutes later:

"Janeway to Torres."

"Torres here."

"B'Elanna, is the forcefield ready? We're coming into transporter range."

"We're good to go, Captain. Vorik's ready to start a deep-level scan the instant we have the transceiver."

"Stand by – Harry's transporting it now."

"Got it. Vorik's scanning."

"I don't hear his tricorder whining."

"It isn't. I think Tuvok was right when he said we had the transceivers out of order. That's what must have caused the whine."

"Very good, B'Elanna," said Janeway. "We're on our way. Janeway out." She started for the turbolift saying, "Chakotay, Tuvok, you're with me."

--

Cargo Bay 1, a few minutes later:

"The frequency is unchanged. It matches that of the buoy," said Vorik as he continued his deep-level scan of the transceiver. Torres was about to answer him when the cargo bay doors opened to admit Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok.

"Report," said Janeway.

"Beaming the transceiver behind a forcefield was a good idea, Captain," said Torres. "I ran a preliminary scan and found something inside that qualifies as a booby trap. There doesn't appear to be any immediate risk of detonation, but I haven't figured out how to deactivate it yet."

When Chakotay walked closer to the forcefield to examine the object visually, Vorik looked up from his tricorder readings and said, "Lieutenant Torres, the transceiver is broadcasting a new frequency."

Janeway glanced over at her first officer and said, "That confirms our theory about proximity to the beacon locator triggering the switchover. One more mystery solved."

"The vibrations from my locator have intensified as well," said Chakotay. "This signal is definitely authentic."

Vorik interrupted, saying, "The booby trap device just deactivated itself, Lieutenant."

"Looks like the beacon locator was responsible for that, too," said Torres as she scanned the transceiver as well. "I'd say that the device was set to go off on a time delay if someone without the locator tried to remove it from where it was situated." She turned to Janeway and said, "It's safe to lower the containment field, Captain. Except for the signal it's transmitting, the transceiver's other mechanics have gone completely inert. I'd like to get a look at what's inside."

Janeway turned to Tuvok, who had been scanning the transceiver as well. "Tuvok?"

"Lieutenant Torres is correct. The detonator within the transceiver is completely inactive. If the lieutenant wishes to study it, it would be safe for her to proceed."

"Very well," said Janeway. "Lower the forcefield."

The forcefield came down without incident. Torres continued to scan the transceiver and finally said, "Captain, I'll have some answers for you in a couple of hours."

"All right, B'Elanna," said Janeway. "Today's briefing is fairly routine, so I'll excuse you from it to continue working down here. Keep me informed of your progress. In the meantime, send the specifics of the new frequency to Harry's console so we can start scanning for it."

"Acknowledged."

With that, Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok left the cargo bay to return to the bridge and begin the morning briefing shortly thereafter.

* * *

**Third Portal Space, Day 14:  
**Thursday, February 17, 2377  
Stardate 54130.2

Bridge, 0033 hours:

"Rollins to Janeway."

"Janeway here. Report."

"Sorry to disturb you at this hour, Captain, but I thought you would want to know that sensors just detected the frequency Lieutenant Torres specified earlier. _Voyager_ should arrive at its source in about eight hours, but it requires a slight course change."

"Adjust our heading then, Mr. Rollins, and notify the _Prosperous Journey_. Maintain speed. Janeway out."

--

Bridge, 0803 hours:

Janeway strode onto the bridge and glanced over at the Operations station as she took her seat. "Report."

"We're in visual range, Captain," said Kim.

"On screen," said Janeway.

The viewscreen displayed a sizable though somewhat rundown space station. The sprawling, utilitarian structure appeared to have been cobbled together from an odd assortment of unrelated components. Half a dozen small ships were moored at various docking stations.

"Lovely," said Paris.

"I think we might need Captain Helar's stealth cloaks for this one," said Janeway. "There's got to be a quadlet on that station – we've run out of frequencies."

"Good point," said Chakotay.

"I'm going to send Neelix down to check the station out, but I don't need his opinion to confirm that the place is more than a little unsavory."

"When you think about it, Captain," said Chakotay, "it would make a good place to hide a quadlet. Someone would have to be either desperate or pretty damned determined to want set foot on that station to begin with."

"Indeed," said Tuvok.

"Harry, I want detailed scans of the interior. If I have to order the map team in, I'd like to know what I'm sending them into."

"Yes, Ma'am. Scans in progress."

"Janeway to Neelix."

"Neelix here."

"Neelix, join me in my ready room. I have an away mission for you."

"On my way. Neelix out."

"If anyone can give us a first-hand impression of the lay of the land, it would be Neelix," said Chakotay.

Janeway turned toward Chakotay and leaned over the console. "I trust his instincts in situations like this. He's got a good feel for dangerous situations and will certainly blend in better than any of the rest of us. Between his observations and Harry's scans, we should get a full picture of what's over there." She straightened up and said, "Commander, you have the bridge." Janeway stood and crossed the bridge to disappear into her ready room.

--

Ready Room, 0821 hours:

"Come in."

The ready room doors opened to admit Neelix. "Captain, you said you needed me for an away mission?"

"Yes. You'll leave as soon as possible." Janeway pulled up video feed from the viewscreen onto her desktop monitor and turned it so that Neelix could see the station.

"Not the most cheerful of places, is it, Captain?" he asked. "It reminds me of the Nekrit Supply Depot."

"Exactly," said Janeway. "And if this station is anything like it, I have to know that for certain before I send anyone in. I want you to get a feel for what the map team can expect, Neelix. See if there's anyplace that looks like it might conceal a quadlet. Your experience as a trader will help you blend in and look around without attracting attention better than the rest of us."

"That's true," said Neelix. "Captain, I'm sure their long-range sensors have detected _Voyager_ and _Prosperous Journey _by now." Neelix glanced at the monitor screen again. "Might I suggest that _Voyager_ and the _Prosperous Journey_ remain within sight of anyone monitoring ship traffic on the station? I'd like to take _Baxial_ in, just as we did with the Nardonian marketplace. Both of you will still attract attention, but probably not as much as if either of you tried to dock."

"I was about to suggest that, Neelix, but you beat me to it," said Janeway.

"With your permission, I'd like to tell anyone who asks that both you and Helar are concerned that the docking facilities might not be able to accommodate ships of your size. Judging from the appearance of the place, it's probably true."

"That's a good idea, Neelix, but only tell people if you're asked. Don't volunteer any more information than you have to."

"I won't, Captain, I promise. I'll go in there and tell them I'm looking for spindle bearings and other replacement parts for _Baxial_."

"Good idea. I'll inform Helar that we're going to hold position near the station while you investigate it. Com me when you're ready to leave."

"I will, Captain," Neelix said as he turned to head for the shuttlebay and his freighter.

"And Neelix?" Janeway called after him, "Be careful. You're too valuable to lose."

"Don't you worry, Captain, I'll stay safe," he said with a nod and a smile as he left the ready room.

--

The Ontarian Supply Outpost, 1038 hours:

Neelix shivered with apprehension as he stepped off _Baxial_ and into the Ontarian Supply Outpost. He tightened his grip on the strap of the shoulder pack he carried as part of his cover posing as a prospective buyer of replacement parts. Neelix was grateful for the concealed hand phaser in his trouser pocket, and sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

The station was as patched together from disparate components on the inside as it was on the outside, but despite the haphazard appearance, the interior looked clean and reasonably well maintained. The lighting, however, was murkier than Neelix would have liked from the standpoint of safety.

He quietly observed the traffic inside the station long enough to get a feel for its flow, and then chanced across a large directory on the wall once he finally joined the crowd. It listed the type of merchandise and services available on the station, and keyed everything to a detailed floor plan. Neelix had expected the usual replacement parts merchants, map dealers, bars, and places to eat cafeteria-style, but was surprised to find booksellers and dry goods merchants, a library, produce and grocery staples markets, and a school. _Curious_, he thought. _What possible use could this rundown station have for a school or a library, let alone a bookseller?_

Neelix scanned the list again and chose a nearby bar to begin further reconnaissance. He strolled casually into the place and took a seat at the far end of the bar near the back wall, from where he could watch the patrons coming and going.

"Never seen your kind in here before," said the bartender as he approached Neelix to take his drink order.

"I'm not from around here," said Neelix. "Just passing through, actually. I need a good drink, a good meal, and spindle bearings for my cargo ship."

"Can't help you with the bearings, but you've come to the right place for food and drink. What can I get you?"

"Well, my good man, as you pointed out, I'm new here. What would you recommend?"

"You look like a man who can hold your liquor," said the bartender.

"That I can," said Neelix, "although it's a bit early in the day to start drinking anything very alcoholic, but bring me the house specialty anyway."

The bartender cocked an eyebrow. "You're an adventurous sort. One 'Ontarian Welcome,' coming up," he said, as he walked to the middle section of the bar to prepare Neelix's drink, leaving the Talaxian wondering exactly what he'd gotten himself into.

The man returned a few minutes later and placed a tumbler containing an orange-colored concoction in front of Neelix, who picked it up and eyed it speculatively. "Do I toss it back or sip it?" he asked.

"It has a different effect on every species that tries it," the bartender said. "If I were you, I'd take a swallow and then decide for yourself."

"Very well, my good man," said Neelix. He held the tumbler up to his nose and inhaled the pleasant aroma of the spirits, which actually made his whiskers tingle. Neelix then took a healthy sip. His mouth puckered into a surprised 'o' as his tongue registered the unexpected tartness of the drink, and then he drew in a long breath through pursed lips as he marveled at the sensation of the room seeming to tip momentarily and then right itself. That was quickly followed by an intriguing spicy aftertaste and a spreading feeling of warmth suffusing his body from his throat down to his toes.

He let out his breath in a puff and enthused, "Wow! That's some welcome!"

"It does have quite a nice kick to it," the bartender smirked.

Neelix felt a very pleasant buzz getting started. His vision blurred slightly, and he realized that he needed to put some food into his stomach if he was going to keep his wits about him while he nursed the potent drink and gathered information. "Mister..." he began.

The bartender smiled and said, "It's Arslak. And you're?"

"Neelix. Pleased to meet you, Arslak." Neelix extended his hand, which Arslak grasped at the wrist. Neelix grasped the man's wrist in return and shook once. "Arslak, I was up early this morning and in too much of a rush to eat breakfast. Now that it's just about time for me to be having my lunch, what would you recommend to go with my Ontarian Welcome?"

"Most people ask for the Narsaka sausage with collis spice noodles," said Arslak. "The dish moderates the intoxicating nature of the drink down to a comfortable level without losing any of its pleasant effects, besides being quite enjoyable in its own right. It's a very popular combination in this establishment."

"Narsaka sausage with collis spice noodles, it is then, Arslak."

Neelix set his drink down in front of him and watched as Arslak drew the ingredients for his lunch from nearby shelves and a refrigeration chest set against the back wall. Arslak walked over to a small cooking unit behind the bar close to where Neelix was sitting. He tossed sausage, soft noodles, spices and several green, red, and yellow diced vegetables into a pan similar to one of Neelix's kitchen woks. Within moments, a mouth-watering aroma filled Neelix's nostrils, and he exclaimed, "Arslak! You must let me have the recipe, if this dish is indeed as tasty as it smells."

"My pleasure," said Arslak. "You'll even be able to purchase everything you need for it here on the station. We have our own cultivation bays, and sell the spices and vegetables in a produce market open to everyone. There's also a separate market for items we bring in such as the Narsaka sausage."

"I was going to ask you about that," said Neelix. "I came across a directory on the wall not too far from here. It also listed a library and a school. Not what I would expect on a station like this."

"You mean you've never heard of the Ontarian Mining Consortium?" asked Arslak as he set Neelix's lunch in front of him. "You really aren't from around here, are you?

"No, I'm not. The last three places I've stopped at for any length of time were Abras, Nardonia, and Sirana," said Neelix, between shoveling large forkfuls of sausage and spiced noodles into his mouth.

"Nardonia? Never heard of it," said Arslak.

Neelix immediately realized his mistake in mentioning a Second Portal world. He faked a cough from apparently having swallowed a mouthful of his meal too quickly, hoping to give himself time to figure out how to cover his gaffe. Arslak reached behind himself for a pitcher of water and poured Neelix a glass. What neither of them noticed was the nearby pair of unsavory types whose acute hearing had picked up the word "Abras" when they had entered Arslak's bar. The two moved to a table near Neelix to listen closely to the rest of the conversation.

Neelix recovered from his "coughing fit" and said, "Thanks, Arslak. I need to remember to eat a little slower. It's an old bad habit from my days as a trader." He took another small sip of his Ontarian Welcome and continued. "As for Nardonia, don't feel bad if you've never heard it. It's quite far off the beaten path from Abras. Nasty little backwater – humid, swampy. I only stopped there long enough to take on supplies that I hadn't expected to run out of. I'd say that's about the entire entire planet's good for."

"I've heard tell of Abras. If you've come from there, then you've covered quite a distance," said Arslak.

"True, but I'm fortunate to be traveling with friends. We stumbled across a couple of small wormholes that shortened our journey considerably," said Neelix. "Which reminds me... they asked that I bring back a map for the next several sectors. We're looking for a suitable uninhabited world to colonize."

"Barzeran's is the best map shop on the station," said Arslak. A gesture from the aliens at the table close to Neelix caught the attention of the bartender. "Just a moment, Neelix, I have two paying customers to take care of."

"Not a problem. It gives me a chance to enjoy a little more of my lunch."

Arslak came out from behind the bar to take the order, and then returned to mix the drink order and then serve it.

As Neelix ate his sausage and spice noodles, he mulled over what he had learned thus far, and thought about what else he wanted to find out. The bartender finally returned, and when Neelix opened his mouth to resume the conversation, Arslak beat him to it.

"You know, Neelix, you mentioned colonizing, and in a sense, that's what the Ontarian Mining Consortium has done for us here on the station. They have a number of very lucrative operations in several of the largest asteroid fields in the region. Their workers come mostly from worlds quite a number of sequences travel time from here, and are contracted to work three seven-rotation sequences on and one seven rotation sequence off continuously for a minimum of four cycles. There really isn't time for most of the miners to travel back to their homeworlds to see their families, so the Consortium provides quarters and facilities for any of the families that wish to join the workers for the length of their contract. For some, it's a distinct improvement over the living standards on their planet," said Arslak.

"That would explain the school and library," said Neelix, "not to mention the dry goods and book merchants."

"Ontarian is very good to their workers. They feel it makes them more productive and less accident-prone."

"Well," said Neelix, "I must say again, this station is not what I expected, judging by its outward appearance as I was approaching in my vessel."

"The rundown appearance is deliberate, Neelix. It keeps a lot of opportunists away, but still, we're not without our problems from time to time. There's the occasional brawl among the workers, just as on any space station, and we also operate as a regular supply depot for passing ships as well. You never know who's going to come though, but for the most part, those of us living here on the station like it well enough. You'll see that for yourself as you look around."

"I'm sure, Arslak," said Neelix. "There's clearly more here than meets the eye." He looked embarrassed for a moment, and asked, "Is there a currency exchange booth somewhere close by? I didn't see one listed in the directory, and I'm afraid all I have on me is Siranian lekmas."

"There is, but you'll find that nearly all of the merchants here are happy to accept lekmas," said Arslak. "Sirana is distant, but it's the major resupply destination of choice in this region. Accepting lekmas saves the merchants from having to pay an exorbitant fee to the currency exchange agents on Sirana."

"Then that works out well all around," said Neelix as he stood. "My friends and I stopped at Sirana not too long ago for their Harvest Festival. It was quite an experience." He paused for a moment and then said, "What do I owe you?"

"A lekma and a half."

Neelix counted out two one lekma notes and received a half lekma coin in return, which he pocketed.

"Neelix, wait just a moment and I'll write out that recipe for you," said Arslak. "I'm fairly certain that our produce merchants would be willing to sell you a few spice and vegetable plants once you tell them it's for your colony. You can substitute pretty much any type of sausage for the Narsaka variety, but if you want the genuine article, the grocery market sells it. Their staff could tell you what's in it if you think your friends might want to duplicate it once they've settled into their new home."

He began to write out the recipe for Neelix when the two patrons he'd served drinks to earlier came over to settle their bar bill. Arslak went over to them and took their payment, and the two left. He returned to finish writing out the recipe and handed it to Neelix, saying, "I'm always happy to share this with an appreciative visitor. Be sure to stop back before you and your friends leave, or better yet, bring them with you."

"I'll do that," Neelix said, and with a cheery wave, he took his leave of Arslak's establishment and headed out to explore the various merchants and facilities the station had to offer.

He kept his eyes open for places that might conceal a quadlet, as Janeway had requested, but he saw nothing promising until he came to the school the directory had listed. Shallow display cases containing children's drawings arranged by grade level were mounted on either side of the entrance doors. Neelix took the time to look through all the pictures, but nothing he saw even vaguely resembled a quadlet. He made a mental note to mention it in his report to the captain when he returned.

His next stop was Barzeran's map shop. As Neelix walked into the small, dusty space, the owner looked up from an inventory list he was studying.

"May I help you? Is there a particular chart you're looking for?" Barzeran asked.

"I'm with a small convoy that is looking for a suitable uninhabited world to colonize. Would you have anything showing systems for the next several sectors beyond here?" asked Neelix.

Barzeran pointed to a row of bins on the side of the shop to Neelix's left. "You might find something over there. I have maps for sectors in several directions from the station in those bins. Take your pick."

Neelix thanked Barzeran and headed over to look through the shopkeeper's inventory. Again, he saw nothing that resembled a quadlet, but instead found two highly detailed maps for systems that appeared to be along their route to the Alpha Quadrant. Digging a little further, he uncovered a beautifully hand-inked small map that showed several constellations that reminded him of the stars he'd heard Jerat had identified as being in the sky surrounding Tarkada. Neelix recognized them from having seen the fused map that Tuvok had brought to several briefings and passed around.

Neelix took all three maps from the bin and walked to the counter to pay for them. As he was counting out Siranian currency, his eye was caught by a striking watercolor mounted on the wall behind Barzeran. It showed a temple complex on what appeared to be an agrarian world. The lower right-hand corner was inset with a schematic floor plan of the main temple's interior. Neelix knew immediately that it would appeal to the anthropologist in Commander Chakotay, so he quickly decided that this might be a good time to pick up an early Prixin gift.

Barzeran noticed Neelix's interest in the painting and said, "That temple actually exists on one of the worlds indicated on the maps you've just purchased, about three days travel from here." Neelix had laid the three maps on the counter in front of him, so Barzeran pulled out the small, hand-inked one and indicated the system to Neelix. "Sarkad. It's a relatively backward society, to be sure, but the temple complex is worth viewing in person if you take particular care to appear as a pilgrim from a distant region of the planet or one of the nearby colony worlds."

"I have a friend who might be interested, so I'll be certain to let him know about it," said Neelix. "The painting wouldn't happen to be for sale, would it?"

"Actually, it would, and for a very good price," said Barzeran. "The artist who created it is a personal friend. The inhabitants of Sarkad tend to view technology as a corrupting influence, which forced my friend to use a concealed holoimager to record what he saw as he took a tour through the temple complex. He's done several panoramas of the buildings, and I've displayed them in my shop for those like yourself who are interested in modern-day living antiquities."

"Then we'd best negotiate a price for it, since my friend has an interest in spirituality and less-developed cultures," said Neelix.

With that, the two engaged in a few minutes of haggling until a price was agreed upon. Neelix put the maps into his pack, and was able to carefully fit the watercolor in as well after Barzaran slipped it into an envelope to protect it. He bid the map dealer a pleasant farewell, and left the shop on his way to find the produce markets.

Since the produce and grocery markets were on the other side of the station, Neelix felt it was a good opportunity to thoroughly observe his surroundings on the way over. As he passed a few replacement parts merchants, he also took the time to look over what they were offering, in case there was anything _Voyager's_ engineering department could use. He also noticed several side corridors leading to what he assumed were the residential portions of the station, and a small number of unoccupied stores.

Finally, Neelix reached the produce market, and as Arslak had predicted, the merchants were more than willing to part with both produce and plants for his Siranian lekmas. He found the same friendliness to be true at the grocery market when he inquired about the ingredients in the Narsaka sausage. He concluded his business at the markets, and continued observing his surroundings as he completed his circuit of the station on his way back to _Baxial_.

Neelix's return to his ship took him through one of the more convoluted and less populated sections of the station, and he glanced over his shoulder from time to time. He had an eerie feeling of being followed, but could not see any signs of it, no matter how hard he looked. Finally, he decided that the murky lighting was getting to him. Neelix reached the bay where _Baxial_ was docked and opened the hatch. As he started to step through, he felt the business end of a weapon against the back of his neck.

"Keep walking, rodent, and if I don't like your moves..." The mugger jabbed Neelix with the weapon to make his point. Neelix froze.

A second weapon jabbed Neelix in the small of his back. "You heard him," a second voice growled. "Walk!"

--

Meanwhile, back on _Voyager_:

Chakotay sat in his office working out the duty roster for the following week when his eyes went wide as he sensed Neelix's anxiety across the Tasnixia bond they shared. He tapped his communicator.

"Chakotay to Janeway."

"Janeway here. Chakotay, what's wrong?"

"Neelix is in trouble," he replied. "I sensed it through our connection. I don't know how we're going to get a rescue team over there without violating Neelix's privacy about the Tasnixia bond, but we have to do it now. He was attacked as he was entering his ship to return to _Voyager_."

"I'll tell Tuvok that I received a distress call directly from him. Head for the shuttlebay and I'll send Tom and Tuvok to meet you. Start the preflight check on the _Flyer_ so you can leave as soon as they get there."

"On my way. Chakotay out."

--

Shuttlebay:

Chakotay was nearly finished with the preflight check when Tom Paris and Tuvok barreled through the _Delta Flyer's_ hatch. He moved over to the copilot's seat and turned the balance of the procedure over to Paris, who sped through the remaining checks. The _Flyer_ lifted off and passed through the open shuttlebay door's forcefield.

A few minutes later, they reached the Ontarian Supply Depot and the bay where Neelix had docked _Baxial_.

"Tom, set the Flyer on stationkeeping. I want you on the transporter in case we need an emergency beamout."

"Aye, sir." Paris did as he was instructed and joined Chakotay and Tuvok in the rear of the _Flyer_.

"Neelix managed to get away long enough to lock himself inside one of the cargo bays on his ship, but there are two people trying to cut through the door with energy weapons," said Chakotay.

"How do you suggest we proceed?" asked Tuvok.

"I have the access code for his ship," answered Chakotay. "Tom, beam us to just outside the hatch. "The muggers will hear it opening, and that should take some of the heat off Neelix. With any luck, they're far enough inside _Baxial_ that we can get a bead on them before they can draw on us."

Paris had been working at the transporter during Chakotay's orders and had isolated the coordinates for the beam-in.

"Well, good luck then, chief, and I'll keep my hands on the controls."

"See that you do."

--

On _Baxial_:

Neelix was convinced that his trader's luck had finally run out, until his two attackers stopped trying to cut through the door of the cargobay in which he was hiding. He heard shots being traded back and forth and the distinctive high-pitched whine of Federation phasers. After a few minutes, the firing stopped and his communicator chirped.

"Chakotay to Neelix. Are you all right?"

Neelix tapped his communicator, which he had been fortunate enough not to lose while evading the muggers. "I am now, Commander. They roughed me up, but not too badly. Just give me a minute, and I'll see if I can get the emergency release for the doors working." Neelix removed a panel next to the bay doors and checked the circuits. A few wires appeared compromised, but he rerouted pathways around the damage, and the doors rolled back far enough for Chakotay to enter.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," said Neelix.

"Actually, I think I do, Neelix. I sensed your situation pretty vividly when you were attacked."

"About that..."

"Neelix, I told the Captain about our bond not too long after Natra," said Chakotay. Seeing Neelix's deep distress, Chakotay hastened to reassure him. "I asked that nothing be recorded in the official logs about it, and she agreed with me. All the Captain knows is that you needed to create a permanent telepathic bond with me to save the away team's lives, but I explained that I was not free to discuss the circumstances under which it was formed. I told her that it was a private Talaxian matter, not to be discussed with off worlders. She's never pressed me for details."

"Thank you, Commander, for respecting our bond," said Neelix. "How did you arrange for my rescue without telling anyone how you knew I was in trouble?"

"Actually, it was the Captain's idea," said Chakotay. "When I commed her from my office to tell her you'd been attacked, she called Tuvok into the Ready Room and said that she'd received a distress call directly from you. That's the official story."

"I'll have to thank her, then," said Neelix.

"That would be a good idea. I'm sure she'd appreciate a visit from you to see for herself that you're okay," said Chakotay. "Neelix, the only reason I said anything to her in the first place is because I foresaw the possibility of something like this happening that could put either one of us in danger. I figured she might need the information someday to help save our lives."

"Actually, Commander, now that you mention it, it's a good precaution for her to know, especially when you think about the danger we're in as the people responsible for moving the map. I know the Captain will respect my privacy," said Neelix.

"Good. Now, let's go join Tuvok and see if you can identify your attackers."

"Oh, I have a pretty good idea who they are, but I'll check, just to be sure."

They exited the cargo storage bay and made their way to the main area of _Baxial_, where Tuvok had Neelix's two unconscious adversaries in restraints and face down on the deck.

"Mr. Neelix," said Tuvok, "We need to report this crime to the authorities. Do you know where they might be located?"

"No, Mr. Vulcan, but I did meet someone that I trust during my survey of the station. He'll be able to help us. I just don't know what we're going to tell him about your uniforms. I told him we were a small convoy, looking for a hospitable planet to colonize."

"Colonies require peacekeepers, do they not?" asked Tuvok. "We will tell your friend that we received a distress call from you and as such, came to your aid."

"Clever, Mr. Vulcan, very clever."

"It is enough of the truth to satisfy the authorities on this station."

"Neelix, it's going to be a while before these two wake up, so why don't you run any diagnostics you need to on _Baxial_ to be sure they didn't sabotage anything. In the meantime, I'll contact Tom on the _Flyer_."

"Good idea, Commander." Neelix walked over to the control console of his freighter and began a series of system checks.

"Chakotay to Paris."

"Paris here."

"Stand down from the transporter, Tom. Neelix is okay, and we captured the two that attacked him. We're going to turn them over to the station authorities. I don't know how long it's going to take, but stay where you are for the moment. Neelix is running a diagnostic and if everything checks out, I'll need you to head back to _Voyager_ and give the captain a preliminary report while we take care of things over here. Wait for my signal."

"Got it, big guy."

"Lieutenant..."

"Yes, _sir_..."

"Chakotay out."

Paris rolled his eyes at the formality and returned to the flight deck to wait for Chakotay's signal.

--

A few minutes later:

"So everything checks out then?" asked Chakotay.

"Yes, Commander. If you and Mr. Vulcan would like to return to _Voyager_ with me on _Baxial_, it's safe to do so."

Chakotay nodded and tapped his communicator. "Chakotay to _Delta Flyer_."

"Paris here."

"Tom, Neelix's ship is spaceworthy, so head on back to _Voyager_. Let the captain know that we're going to turn Neelix's attackers over the station authorities. We'll give her a full report when we return."

"Will do, Commander."

"Chakotay out."

Meanwhile, the two prisoners had begun to shift about and groan during Chakotay's conversation with Paris. Tuvok flipped them over onto their backs and Neelix recognized them immediately.

"Those are the two who sat behind me in Arslak's tavern. They may have overheard me mention having come from Abras." Neelix thought for a moment and then said, "They probably overheard me ask Arslak where I might find a good map shop, too."

"_Mr_. Neelix," said Tuvok, with a glower.

"I know, Mr. Vulcan, I know," said Neelix. "I realize my foolishness now." Neelix thought better than to mention his slip of the tongue regarding Nardonia. "I only mentioned Abras in passing along with Sirana when I was chatting with Arslak. It's a known destination in this region. I didn't think it would draw attention, and I certainly didn't go into details."

"And who is this Arslak?" asked Chakotay.

"He owns a tavern similar to Sandrine's not too far from here. Arslak has food available as well, so that's where I had my lunch, along with quite an informative talk."

"And he is trustworthy?" asked Tuvok.

"Yes. He enjoys his life here on the station and is very knowledgeable about its goings-on. He could definitely contact the authorities for us without drawing too much attention. These two are conscious enough to walk, so I suggest we be on our way."

Chakotay and Tuvok hauled the two muggers to their feet, and Neelix led the way to Arslak's establishment.

--

Arslak's tavern, a few minutes later:

"Neelix, what happened to you?" The colorful bruises visible on the Talaxian's face alarmed Arslak. He came out from behind his bar and walked over to where Neelix's party stood just inside the door.

"I had a run-in with these two," Neelix said. "I'm sure you remember them."

"Indeed, I do" said Arslak. "I thought they looked a little unsavory, but there was nothing in their behavior while they were in here to suggest they were criminals. Both were very cordial when they settled their bill, and even gave me a generous gratuity."

"If it's any consolation, Arslak, I didn't suspect them either, even when they sat at the table behind me."

"We had an incident with their kind just over a sequence ago, but I thought I was being suspicious for nothing. One certainly can't condemn an entire race based on the actions of a few."

"No, of course not, Arslak, but what's done is done. I was able to get off a distress call to my friends on the convoy, and they sent two of our peacekeepers to my rescue."

Arslak turned his attention to Tuvok and Chakotay and took note of their uniforms.

"If you would be so kind as to summon the authorities," said Tuvok, "we would prefer to turn these two over to them with as little commotion as possible. We do not wish to alarm the people on the station unnecessarily."

"That's a thoughtful request, considering that the security officers are headquartered at some distance from here. I will summon them for you, and Neelix can make his complaint to them directly." Arslak stepped over to a communications terminal behind the bar while Chakotay and Tuvok found an out-of-the-way corner and sat their prisoners down at a table to keep watch over them until the station authorities arrived.

Three uniformed station security personnel entered the tavern several minutes later to take the two muggers into custody. Chakotay and Tuvok got them to their feet while Neelix approached the authorities.

"Officers, I would like to lodge a complaint with you. These two in restraints drew weapons and threatened me as I was entering my freighter about one of your intervals ago. Once we were all inside, they attacked me, but I was able to get away from them long enough to lock myself in a cargo bay and summon two peacekeepers from the convoy I'm traveling with. Fortunately, they were able to come to my aid quickly."

Tuvok stepped forward. "I am Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, head of security for our convoy."

"Orslas," replied one of the three, "Security Chief for the Ontarian Supply Outpost. What was the exact nature of the crime?"

"That is unclear, but from my crewmate's account, it would appear that robbery was the prime motive," said Tuvok. "Mr. Neelix had a sizable amount of Siranan currency on his person, and of course, he also has his own freighter docked nearby."

Officer Orslas turned to Neelix with a questioning expression on his face.

"I would agree with Mr. Tuvok's assessment, Mr. Orslas" said Neelix. "I ate my lunch here in the tavern and these two sat at a table directly behind me. They must have overheard me ask Arslak where I might find a currency exchange merchant since all I had were Siranian lekmas from our recent stopover there. My attackers apparently shadowed me after I left here to visit several merchants and the food markets. I thought I was being followed at one point, but I just told myself it was because the area I was walking through was deserted. I wish I'd paid more attention to my instincts."

"We will detain your attackers until they can be brought to trial. We will need your testimony."

"Our convoy will only be at the station briefly before we must be underway again," said Tuvok. "Is it possible for Mr. Neelix to record his testimony for the trial?"

"Of course," said Orslas. "We get quite a number of transients passing through the station, so our legal code permits electronic testimony to be used at trial, provided it is sufficiently detailed. If you would like to accompany your shipmate, we can see to it immediately."

"Very well, Officer," said Tuvok.

"Tuvok, I'll wait here until you're finished," said Chakotay. "One unfamiliar uniform in the public corridors is disturbance enough for the station."

"As you wish, Commander," said Tuvok. "Mr. Neelix and I will meet you here when we're finished."

"I'd recommend the Narsaka sausage with collis spice noodles while you're waiting for us to return," said Neelix, "but you're a vegetarian."

"Actually, I do make a meatless version of the dish that's nearly identical in flavor," interjected Arslak.

"Then it looks like I'll be having myself an early supper on the station," said Chakotay as he went over to the bar and sat. "See you both in a little while," he said with a wave as Neelix, Tuvok, and the three station authorities left with the two attackers. Chakotay settled in to see what he could learn from Neelix's "very knowledgeable" source.

--

_Voyager's_ Ready Room, 1932 hours.

"I'm just glad you're all right, Neelix," said Janeway. "You'll be sure to have the Doctor check you over and see to those bruises, won't you?"

"Sickbay was going to be my next stop," said Neelix. He hesitated for a moment and then began, "Captain..."

"Yes, Neelix, what is it?"

"I just wanted to thank you for respecting the privacy of my bond with Commander Chakotay when you told Mr. Tuvok that I commed you directly."

"Of course, Neelix," said Janeway. "The Commander explained that it was a very private Talaxian matter that he couldn't discuss with me, but he felt it was important that I be aware of its existence." She stood and came around the desk to rest her hand on Neelix's arm. "I don't have to tell you how dangerous it is for us to be transporting the map. I feel better knowing that we have an extra advantage to keep both you and Chakotay safe. _Voyager_ just wouldn't be the same if I lost either one of you."

"I'm glad he told you about it, then," said Neelix with a smile. "It's worth giving you a little peace of mind. You have enough to worry about already."

"That I do, Neelix, but we'll make it through this gauntlet."

"I'm sure you'll get us through, Captain," said Neelix. "Well, if you will excuse me, I'd better be off to Sickbay."

"Of course. I'll look forward to your full report at tomorrow's briefing."

"You'll have it, Captain. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Neelix."

After the ready room doors closed behind Neelix, Janeway looked thoughtful for a moment, wondering if his having been attacked after he mentioned Abras and a map shop meant that there might indeed be a quadlet on the station. _Tomorrow will tell_, she thought as she turned her attention back to the remaining few reports on her desk awaiting her attention.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 15:  
**Friday, February 18, 2377  
Stardate 54132.8

Briefing Room, 1119 hours.

"Good thing you had that bag of spice in your hand," said Torres to Neelix.

"I'll say. I couldn't fit both the Narsaka sausage and the bag of spice in the shoulder pack without crushing the plants I'd bought. That spice bag was so full that it wouldn't close tightly. It was easy to get collis spice into those filthy _sharvats'_ eyes when I pretended to stumble," Neelix said with a sigh.

"But..." said Kim.

Neelix sighed again. "I know it bought me the time to get behind a locked door, but the gourmet cook in me feels it was a huge waste of good spice."

Janeway's eyes twinkled as she said, "Well, I can't have our 'gourmet cook' unhappy, Neelix. I'll authorize another away mission to the station for you to replenish your supply."

Neelix's face brightened, but before he could thank Janeway, she said, "This time, I'm sending Chakotay, Tuvok, and Tom with you. What do you think the chances are that there's a quadlet hidden somewhere on the station?"

"I'd say they're pretty good." replied Neelix. There's quite a few odd little nooks and crannies and a surprising number of empty shops, plus the last portion of the station that I passed through after leaving the markets was almost entirely deserted," said Neelix. "I also saw a number of corridors I didn't have a good enough reason to explore because they looked like they led to living quarters."

"The place is worth investigating, then," said Janeway.

"I'd say so. Yes, Captain."

"From what little I've seen of the station, I tend to agree with Neelix," said Chakotay.

"Captain, if I may..." started Neelix. Janeway nodded at him. "I'd send B'Elanna and maybe Vorik, too. There are quite a few technology and used component merchants on the station. We don't know when we'll have the next opportunity for resupply. There might be something in those shops that the engineering department could use."

"Good thinking, Neelix," said Torres.

"All right, B'Elanna. Join the away team, and take Vorik with you. Be ready to leave at 1300," said Janeway. "I want the usual – civilian clothes, shoulder packs, concealed technology, transporter armbands, subdermal transponders..."

"Interlink cortical transmitter," said Seven of Nine.

"Not this time," said Janeway as she saw Chakotay wince at Seven's suggestion. "Based on Tuvok's report after he returned yesterday, I feel the station is reasonably safe, despite what happened to Neelix. Tuvok saw the station's security logs, and they show a good safety record. I'll let you know when we need to use the interlink transmitter."

"As you wish, Captain," replied Seven.

Chakotay glanced over at Janeway and nodded his thanks, and then turned back to the rest of the senior staff. "Neelix, before I forget, Arslak asked me to give you this," Chakotay said as he reached over and handed a piece of paper to the Talaxian.

Neelix quickly scanned the writing and said, "Another recipe."

"This one's for the meatless version of collis spice noodles," said Chakotay. "I think you've got a real winner on your hands with or without the sausage. If the Captain hadn't authorized another trip to the market to replace your collis spice, I would have pushed for it."

"It sounds like you're going to have the crew eating out of your hand, Neelix," said Tom Paris with a big grin. "Between those new Tarkada spices and this mystery meal Chakotay is raving about, the crew will forget all about leola root stew and pleeka rind casserole."

"Oh, I don't think there's too much chance of that, Tom," said Neelix, "but a little variety every once in a while keeps things interesting."

"You'll get no complaints from me, Neelix, if this noodle dish is as good as Chakotay says," said Kim with a slight smirk on his face. "Those Tarkada spices certainly were a big hit at the reception for the Siranians." There were a few chuckles around the table.

"People, let's get back on track here," said Janeway. "The excursions to the market and technology dealers are important, but the mission objective is to locate another quadlet if it's on the station, and retrieve it then and there if possible. Neelix, we'll need to use _Baxial_ again."

"Of course, Captain," said Neelix. "It's at your disposal."

"1300 hours, you said?" asked Paris.

"1300 hours, yes. If there's nothing else..." Janeway looked around the table, and then dismissed the briefing.

Chakotay remained behind and waited until the others had left the room. "Thanks for not ordering me to wear the interlink cortical transmitter, Kathryn."

"Tuvok assured me that the station is fairly safe, despite its appearance. He found out that the mining consortium that oversees it runs a pretty tight ship from a security standpoint. The attack on Neelix was an isolated incident. Muggings on the station are actually pretty rare, so I felt it wasn't necessary to have you in the collective this time around, Chakotay. Just be careful and watch yourself."

"I will, Kathryn," replied Chakotay. "Listen, we have a little over an hour before this mission starts. Have lunch with me? I'll ask Neelix to fix the spice noodles and sausage for you, and by the time I've gotten into my civvies, they should be ready. 20 minutes in the mess hall?"

"You're on. It's rare that you and Neelix agree on what constitutes a good meal, so I'm intrigued. I'll meet you there."

With that, Chakotay left to prepare for the away mission, and Janeway returned to the Bridge until it was time to meet him for lunch.

--

The Ontarian Supply Depot, 1321 hours.

The away team arrived at the station and disembarked from _Baxial_ without incident. Neelix directed everyone to the directory placard on the wall that he had encountered when he first came to the station, and the team spent several minutes familiarizing themselves with the layout of the Ontarian Supply Depot.

"B'Elanna and Vorik," said Chakotay, "I want the two of you to remain together at all times. I doubt there's going to be a repeat of the attack on Neelix, but we're in unfamiliar territory, so let's err on the side of safety."

"A wise precaution, Commander," said Vorik to Chakotay. The Vulcan turned to Torres and said, "Lieutenant, where would you like to begin visiting the technology merchants?"

Torres turned to the directory and studied the floor plan for a moment. Neelix leaned over and pointed out a particular area, saying, "I would start here, B'Elanna. That's where most of the component parts dealers are concentrated. I looked through quite a bit of their inventory, and those shops have the biggest selection at a good price."

"All right, Neelix," she said. "Thanks." Torres glanced over at Chakotay for permission to go.

"Fine, B'Elanna. Just stay together, the two of you, and check in at around 1530, if you don't hear from us."

Will do, Chakotay," said Torres. She motioned in the direction Neelix had indicated and said, "Vorik?" The two engineers moved off on their assignment.

Chakotay turned and said, "Neelix, where would you suggest we start looking?"

"I suspect that the quadlet is in the part of the station that's deserted," said the Talaxian. "I checked the occupied part of the station pretty thoroughly as I went along, but why don't we retrace my route? You have that nice beacon locator -- maybe I missed something."

"Sounds like a plan," said Chakotay. The map team proceeded to follow Neelix, who led them to the school, where Chakotay and Tuvok closely examined the children's drawings in the showcase next to the school's entrance.

"No," said Chakotay, "none of these is a quadlet."

"That's what I thought too, Mr. Chakotay, but I thought it best to show you," said Neelix. "We should also check Barzaran's map shop."

"A map shop? Why didn't we go there first, instead of wasting all this time looking at kids' drawings?" asked Paris. "Naomi could do better than these."

"Because I don't think there's a quadlet there either," said Neelix, somewhat defensively. "I looked. There was more chance of one of these drawings being a quadlet than anything I saw in Barzaran's."

"Leave the man alone, Paris," said Chakotay. "If there's a quadlet hidden somewhere on the station, don't you think a map shop would be a little too obvious?"

"Yeah, whatever," said Paris. "We're still wasting time. Let's go, Neelix."

The away team continued to retrace Neelix's original route. As they approached Barzeran's, Tuvok asked, "Anything, Commander?"

"No change in the beacon locator, Tuvok. I think Neelix is right," said Chakotay. "If there's a quadlet on the station, it isn't in Barzaran's."

Neelix looked at Paris with a self-satisfied smirk. The pilot just rolled his eyes and said nothing. The away team came to the technology section, where Torres and Vorik were busy digging through bins outside of a shop and adding parts to a pile of components at their feet.

"How's it going, B'Elanna?" asked Chakotay.

"Great," she answered. "There's a lot of miscellaneous stuff here we can use, and this is only the second place we looked. Good suggestion, Neelix."

"Glad I could help, Lieutenant."

Torres turned away for a moment to look over a part Vorik was holding out to her, and then turned back to Chakotay, saying, "How about you? Any luck?"

Not yet, B'Elanna," Chakotay answered. "Neelix thinks it's probably in the deserted part of the station if it's here at all, so that's where we're off to after we visit the produce market. I'll comm the two of you if we're done before I hear from you. If you finish up first, let me know and then head for the tavern near the directory Neelix showed us, and we'll meet you there."

"All right, Chakotay. You got it."

With that, the rest of the away team continued on their way until they finally reached the produce market. Chakotay, Paris, and Tuvok fanned out into the aisles to look around for possible hiding places for a quadlet while Neelix negotiated with the spice dealers for a new supply of collis spice and a few other things that had escaped his scrutiny the day before. After the better part of an hour spent searching, the rest of the team worked their way back to Neelix's location, where the Talaxian was finishing up his negotiations. Neelix cast a questioning glance at Chakotay, who communicated across the Tasnixia bond that they had found nothing.

"Are you almost done, Neelix?" asked Chakotay. "We have a few more stops before we head on back."

"Ready when you are," replied Neelix. With that, the map team moved out of the market and into the abandoned part of the station. They had scarcely gone ten meters when Chakotay's beacon locator snapped on and began to vibrate.

"I've got something," he said. "Neelix, I think your hunch about the location was right."

"Then you take the lead, Commander," said Neelix. "We'll watch your back."

The map team moved into the disused portion of the station, with Chakotay paying strict attention to the intensity of the vibrations of his beacon locator. After several fruitless trips down corridors they passed along the way, the map team finally came upon a very long and poorly-lit hallway that led to a large public space, long since abandoned. Chakotay felt the vibrations of his beacon locator ramp up.

The area had once been a lushly-planted self-sustaining public arboretum, complete with stone benches and tables scattered throughout where people could sit and read or eat a meal. Floor-to-ceiling viewports along one wall were visible through an overgrowth of trees, vines, and shrubbery that had once constituted the garden, and had since grown wild though neglect. An enormous notice board thickly plastered over with old flyers covered nearly all of one wall adjacent to the viewports. As Chakotay approached it, his locator device intensified its vibrations and then shut itself off the moment he ran his hand along the surface of the flyers.

"It's somewhere underneath all this paper," said Chakotay. "My beacon locator just shut itself off."

"Perhaps I can assist," said Tuvok. He laid his palms flat against the wall and ran them methodically over the flyers until a vision of Horus's skywall briefly flashed through his mind. "I believe the quadlet is directly beneath my hands," he said.

"Great," said Paris. "So how are we supposed to get it out from under all this garbage?"

Neelix reached into his pocket, withdrew a jackknife, and showed it to the team. "Here. This should help."

"Carrying a concealed weapon, Neelix?" asked Paris. "What were you planning on doing with it?"

"Leave the man alone, Paris," said Chakotay. "In case you've forgotten, he was roughed up yesterday."

"If I'd had this with me then," said Neelix, "those two would never have gotten onto my ship."

"Don't worry about it, Neelix," said Chakotay. "It's lucky for us that you brought it. Recovering the quadlet just got a lot easier—unless, of course, Tom, you'd rather peel back all these layers with your bare hands..."

"Uh, think I'll pass on that one," said Paris.

"Thought so," said Chakotay. "Neelix, will you do the honors?"

"Of course, Commander." Neelix stepped over to the notice board and felt around the area where Tuvok's hands rested against the paper. The Talaxian probed with his fingers until he was able to discern a faint impression of where the quadlet's edges were located, buried under all the paper. He began to carefully cut away at the flyers near one of the corners. Once he had sliced through several layers, Neelix carefully peeled them back, and continued to work away at it until he had exposed a portion of the quadlet. He worked his knife underneath and pried up a corner.

Tuvok worked two of his fingers under the loosened corner and pinched his index finger against the top of the exposed section. Horus's skywall leapt up and replaced the abandoned garden space.

"Well, I guess there's no doubt it's genuine," said Paris. "Neelix, can you pry enough of the paper away to pull the quadlet off the wall? We can wait on cleaning off all the schmutz until we're back aboard _Voyager_."

Chakotay said, "He's right. Let's not hang around here any longer than we have to. We don't need anyone on the station seeing this skywall and asking questions we'd rather not have to answer."

"Agreed, Commander," said Neelix. "Mr. Vulcan, would you please hold onto that corner you have between your fingers? I'm going to cut very carefully underneath the edges of the quadlet to loosen it."

After a few minutes of work, Neelix managed to work enough of the paper layer free for Tuvok to pull the quadlet from the wall. Tuvok withdrew the fused quadlets that he'd carried in his shoulder pack and attempted to fuse the new quadlet to the rest of the Third Portal map recovered thus far, but was unsuccessful. The skywall promptly disappeared, and he slipped the pieces into the equipment pack he carried over his shoulder.

"All that paper and glue might be interfering somehow with the process," said Paris. "Once it's cleaned off, you'll probably have better luck, Tuvok."

"'Luck is not involved in the fusion process, Mr. Paris, but you may be correct about the foreign material as a factor affecting its function."

"Right," said Paris.

"I think we're done here, said Chakotay. "My beacon locator is still off. If there's another quadlet on the station, it's not on this wall. Chakotay to Torres."

"Torres here."

"B'Elanna, looks like we've finished up our business on the station. Where are you right now?"

"We're almost at the tavern you told us about. I'd appreciate a little help getting all the parts we found back to _Voyager_."

"Not a problem. Stay put once you get there. It's late enough in the day that we can all have our supper on the station before we get back to _Voyager_. I just need to report in to the Captain, and then we'll meet up with you and Vorik."

"Fine."

Neelix broke into the conversation. "B'Elanna?"

"What is it, Neelix?"

"Order the collis spiced noodles with Narsaka sausage for you, me, and Tom, and ask Arslak to make it vegetarian for Commander Chakotay, Tuvok, and Vorik."

"Chakotay?" The uncertainty was evident in Torres' voice.

"It's all right, B'Elanna. I had the meatless version yesterday, and the Captain had the spice noodles with sausage for today's lunch. Trust me -- no one's ending up in sickbay."

"If you say so."

"I say so. We'll be there shortly. Chakotay out."

That said, Chakotay took a few minutes to advise Janeway that they had located another quadlet, and then the map team left for Arslak's tavern.


	7. Act 5

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**ACT 5**

Back aboard _Voyager_:

Shuttlebay, 1827 hours:

Janeway paced impatiently in the shuttlebay, waiting for the away team to emerge from the _Delta Flyer_, which had just set down. Chakotay came through the hatch first, followed by Tuvok and the rest of the away team except for Tom Paris, who was busy with the _Flyer's_ shutdown sequence.

"Captain!" exclaimed Chakotay. "Taking a break from fuel consumption reports?"

"Actually, yes," answered Janeway. "They do make truly fascinating reading, but I managed to tear myself away. What do you have for me?"

At hearing Janeway's question, Tuvok reached into his pack and pulled out the paper-encrusted quadlet.

"Just where did you find it, and do I even want to know?" asked the Captain.

"Under multiple layers of paper plastered on a wall at the end of an unremarkable corridor in the abandoned section of the station," Tuvok answered.

"Tuvok, if you'll let me have that, I have some industrial solvent that should get rid of the paper so you can use the quadlet to meditate," said Torres.

"Won't that ruin it?" asked Neelix.

"It's indestructible, Neelix. Remember?" said Torres. "The map survived the antimatter wormhole. A little solvent won't hurt it."

"B'Elanna, why don't you and Vorik take everything to Engineering while I debrief the map team," said Janeway. "You can report on what you found in the technology shops at tomorrow's briefing."

"Thanks, Captain," said Torres. "It shouldn't take me too long to clean up the quadlet. I could drop it off for Tuvok in about 45 minutes, if you don't mind me interrupting the debrief."

"That'll be fine, B'Elanna," said Janeway. "The sooner we can put the entire map together, the happier I'll be. We'll be in the briefing room."

Tom Paris had emerged from the _Flyer_ by this point and joined the group. Janeway and the map team left the shuttlebay for deck 1. They had barely left when Paris teased, "Tired of playing treasure hunt, Captain?"

"You could say that, Tom," said Janeway. "We've been at it for over two weeks. At this point in Second Portal space, we were already through the wormhole. I know there's no set timetable for this, but somehow I feel like we've fallen behind."

"Yeah, I get why you might feel that way," said Paris. "Maybe we'll make it up with one of the other Portals."

"One can only hope, Mr. Paris," said Tuvok in a stern voice, since he did not quite approve of Paris's manner of addressing the Captain.

Janeway suppressed a smile at Tuvok's tone and said, "His instincts could be right about that, Tuvok. We're flying by the seat of our pants here, so to speak, and he is the helmsman."

"C'mon, Tuvok," said Paris. "Even you must be a little frustrated that the map isn't giving up as much information as you'd like."

"Vulcans do not experience frustration, Mr. Paris," said Tuvok, "a fact of which you are well aware, despite your attempts to goad me."

"Of course they don't," snickered an amused Neelix.

Janeway and Chakotay just looked at one another with faint smiles, remembering their earlier conversation about Tuvok and the map. _It's going to be an interesting debriefing_ thought Janeway.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 16:  
**Saturday, February 19, 2377  
Stardate 54135.5

Briefing Room, 1107 hours:

"That's great news, B'Elanna," said Janeway. "Is it worth authorizing another away mission to the technology merchants?"

"I don't think so, Captain," said Torres. "We got pretty much everything worth having."

"All right then. Good work." Janeway turned to her left and said, "Tuvok?"

"Removing the paper from the newly acquired quadlet has not facilitated the fusion process," he replied.

Tuvok placed the fused quadlets collected to date, the fused portion of the Third Portal map, and the newly recovered quadlet from the Ontarian Supply Depot on the briefing room table, which prompted a loud guffaw from Tom Paris.

"Three pieces now, Tuvok? This just keeps getting better and better," he snickered.

Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok all focused glares on Paris, but it was not enough to dampen the helmsman's merriment.

Tuvok said, "You may find this amusing, Mr. Paris, but despite appearances, the new quadlet alone has yielded up an encrypted file as a result of my meditation. Once Seven decrypted it, the file produced coordinates and a text message."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Tuvok," said Harry Kim. "What did the message say?"

Tuvok fixed Kim with a penetrating stare for a moment, and then recited, "In the sacred place from whence sprang the five become one, where the stone daughters keep watch, there shall the right turning path yield the upward way to the gates of Arka."

"A riddle," said Neelix. "What do you think it means?"

"Obviously, it is a clue meant to lead us to the final quadlet of this set, Mr. Neelix," said the Vulcan. "As to the specific meaning, that as yet remains unclear."

"What about those coordinates, Tuvok? I'd like to see a star chart," said Paris

"Seven, would you assist?" said Tuvok.

Seven stood and went to the System Operations wall monitor, where she entered several commands to bring up a starchart she had created from the information Tuvok had discovered in the newest quadlet. When Neelix saw the starchart, he gasped. Every head turned in his direction.

"Neelix?" asked Janeway.

"Captain," he replied, "Are any of the Tarkada aboard _Voyager_ right now?"

"Dinsar and Dursat are working with Vorik in engineering," said Torres, answering for the captain.

"What is this about, Neelix?" asked Janeway.

"It's just a hunch, Captain, but I think the Tarkada might be able to help us with our riddle. I'll need to retrieve a few things from my quarters that I bought at Barzeran's map shop while I was on the Ontarian Supply Depot. Mr. Barzeran told me about a planet called Sarkad that had a renowned temple. May I be excused for a few minutes to go get them?"

Before Janeway could reply, Chakotay said, "I think Neelix may be onto something, Captain. The riddle mentions 'five become one,' which brought to mind the conversation with Dinsar and Dursat when they first came aboard with Imot. They told us that the Tarkada had originally been five races."

"I concur with the Commander and Mr. Neelix," said Seven. "Jerat mentioned Arkad and five daughters while we were working together in Astrometrics. The reference to a place name 'Arka' does not seem coincidental. It may be wise to include Mr. Jerat, as the riddle mentions a turning path, which may be a navigation reference."

"Don't forget the planet Sarkad and the species name 'Tarkada'," said Kim. "That's really an awful lot of similar-sounding words."

"Agreed," said Janeway. "Mr. Neelix, you're excused to retrieve your items while I contact Helar and ask him to join us and bring Jerat with him to this briefing. Stop by the transporter room on your way back to meet them and bring them with you."

"Will do, Captain. I won't be long," said Neelix as he hurried from the room.

The captain tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Vorik."

"Vorik here."

"Mr. Vorik, would you please escort Dinsar and Dursat to the briefing room. We need their assistance to decipher some information."

"On our way, Captain. Vorik out."

The senior staff settled in to wait for Neelix to return with Helar and Jerat, and Vorik's arrival with the two brothers.

--

Briefing room, about twenty minutes later:

"The name "Tarkada" means 'children of Arkad'," said Dinsar. "And your officers were very perceptive, Captain Janeway, to notice all the similar pronunciations."

"You can thank Neelix for that, Dinsar," said Janeway. "He had a hunch, and then Seven, Chakotay, and Mr. Kim all chimed in with similar-sounding words they had noticed. I thought it would be a good idea to ask the two of you about it."

"I am certain that your riddle refers back to our ancient days," said Dinsar. "Captain Helar has also made an extensive study of our history and will undoubtedly confirm that for you."

The briefing room door opened at that moment to admit Neelix, Helar and Jerat.

Dursat could scarcely contain his excitement, saying, "Captain Helar, the Voyagers have discovered the location of ancestral Sarkad and Arkad's sacred temple of legend."

The band of spotted markings above Helar's eyes rose in surprise. "Indeed! How has this happened?"

"Captain Janeway?" said Dinsar.

Nerelix stepped forward and said, "If I may..." Janeway gestured for him to continue. He turned to address Helar. "Captain Helar, I went to the Ontarian Supply Depot on a reconnaissance mission for Captain Janeway to see if there were any possible locations for another piece of the Third Portal map. While I was there, I went into Barzeran's map shop, even though it seemed to me like too obvious a place to hide a quadlet. I found several starcharts for the course ahead of us, and then I came across this." Neelix laid the hand-inked map on the briefing room table in front of Helar and Jerat.

Jerat said, "Yes, those are the same patterns I saw in your star mapping laboratory. They are the ones that resemble the stars around Tarkada."

"And you did not bring this map to our attention, Mr. Neelix, because...," said Tuvok.

"I bought this for myself because it was so beautifully done. Why, it's like a piece of art," said Neelix, somewhat defensively. "Those same patterns are on the quadlets you already showed us, Mr. Vulcan. Take another look."

Seven and Jerat walked over to study the quadlets sitting on the briefing room table in front of Tuvok. Jerat spoke, saying, "The markings on the map itself are faint, but these are indeed the same patterns I saw in the star mapping laboratory. They are identical to the map your Officer Neelix purchased."

"Captain, I remembered that Mr. Barzaran had mentioned Sarkad," said Neelix. "I went to my quarters for the map because we were talking about all the words that sounded alike. I honestly didn't think anyone else would find it useful, since you already had the constellations on part of the Third Portal map."

Out of the corner of her eye, Janeway saw Chakotay shift uneasily in his seat, and she realized he was feeling Neelix's consternation and remorse across their Tasnixia bond. She hastened to reassure the Talaxian, saying, "It's all right, Neelix. You wouldn't have known about your map's significance before you heard the riddle Tuvok found in the new quadlet. What else did you bring to show us?"

"Commander Chakotay's Prixin gift, I'm afraid," said Neelix. "It will ruin the surprise, but the riddle talked about a sacred place, so I thought you should see it."

"Riddle?" asked Helar.

"Tuvok," said Janeway as she glanced over at her tactical officer.

"In the sacred place from whence sprang the five become one, where the stone daughters keep watch, there shall the right turning path yield the upward way to the gates of Arka," Tuvok intoned.

By this time, Neelix had extracted the watercolor of the temple on Sarkad from its protective envelope and laid it on the table. It immediately drew the attention of the four Tarkada.

"Look, Captain Helar," said Dursat as he pointed to a cluster of stone figures supporting the four corners of a detached portico. "Rakid, Dakid, Kadis, Padis, with Ardas on the apex of the roof." The Voyager senior staff stood and clustered around the painting.

"So it is," said Helar. He turned to Janeway and said, "This is indeed the planet of ancient legend among the Tarkada. 'Sarkad' means 'birthplace' in the old Kad language. No member of our race has seen the place of our origin for many hundreds of cycles."

"If I may be so bold to ask, Captain Helar," said Neelix, "who are Rakid, Dakid, Kadis... uh..."

"Padis and Ardas. They are the daughters of our principal diety, Arkad," Helar replied. "Rakid and Dakid are twins, as are Kadis and Padis," said Helar. "Ardas is a singlet and the oldest. She keeps watch over the younger daughters in their endeavors."

Dinsar explained further. "They were also our inspiration in the ancient times because each daughter served as guide and protector to one of the five races the Tarkada once were in those days. Each one exemplified a virtue which all members of the race protected by that goddess strove to emulate. As the five races intermarried, the virtues became a shared cultural heritage that civilized the Tarkada into the one people we are today."

"How is it that the Tarkada no longer live on Sarkad?" asked Janeway.

"Misfortune, Captain Janeway," said Helar, "misfortune and predators who saw an opportunity to expand their empire. The five races were struck down with a plague, and those who envied our ancestors for their many advancements took advantage of their weakened state. You see, the five races had the technological skills to easily construct Arkad's temple, but their medical arts lagged far behind. Our ancestors had already developed space flight, so many who were not infected chose to set off in convoy ships to find a new home where they would be able to rebuild their civilization."

Dursat continued the narrative. "Those who were unwilling to leave family and friends behind stayed to care for the ones who were ill, knowing full well that they themselves would in all likelihood contract the plague. Those remaining were also charged with the responsibility for concealing all technological information with the temple priests in such a way that the predators would be unable to find it to use for furthering their agenda of conquest. All other evidence of the five races' technology was destroyed. Only the temple was left standing by our ancestors, remaining unharmed as a reminder of what we once were."

"It is a great blessing from Arkad herself that your Icheb brought us together, Captain Janeway," said Helar. "The longing to once again see the ancient temple of Arkad has been a persistent thread running through Tarkada culture for uncounted cycles."

"Then you and your crew shall have that longing fulfilled," said Tuvok. "Logically, I would surmise that the final quadlet of the Third Portal map is located somewhere on the grounds of the temple. We must devise a plan which will allow you and your people to visit the temple while our away team searches for the final portion of the map."

Neelix said, "Mr. Barzeran told me that the people on the planet don't like open displays of technology, so his friend had to hide his holoimager so he could take pictures of the temple to use for his paintings once he returned home. Barzeran also advised me that it would be best to appear as a pilgrim from a remote region of Sarkad or one of the nearby colony worlds if we wanted to visit the temple grounds. "

"Posing as pilgrims would be the most logical way for you and your entire crew to visit the temple, Helar," said Janeway. "We'll do reconnaissance on Sarkad and the surrounding worlds so that your people can blend in with the other visitors to the site."

Tom Paris, who had been largely silent up to this point, said, "Well, the _Flyer_ has a cloak now, so it should be pretty easy for us to scan around the planet before anybody sets foot on it, not to mention being able to land somewhere near the temple with the away team. And then there's those personal stealth cloaks," he said, looking directly at Captain Helar.

"They are at your disposal," said Helar with a nod.

"We may need to use them, Helar, depending on what the mission turns up," said Janeway.

"May I offer the assistance of several of our pilots and stealth shuttles in gathering information on the surrounding colony worlds? I assume that you would prefer for your people to conduct the reconnaissance on Sarkad, since _Voyager's_ away team will be retrieving the map."

"You assume correctly, Helar," said Janeway, "and yes, your assistance would be greatly appreciated. It will save us time if both our crews need to disguise themselves as pilgrims from these worlds."

"I'm afraid the Tarkada will not be so easy to disguise," said Helar with a chuckle.

"You just leave that to me," said the EMH. "I can perform cosmetic surgery to change your appearance so that your own mother wouldn't recognize you."

Helar turned a lighter shade of blue. "Doctor...," Janeway warned as she glared at the EMH for his bluntness. She turned back to Helar and said, "He can restore your original appearance just as skillfully, Helar. Members of my crew have undergone cosmetic procedures when a mission required it."

"There's something else to consider, Captain Helar," said Chakotay. "Your people's migration happened a very long time ago. A dramatic change in appearance may not be necessary if some of those who stayed behind managed to survive the plague. Until we've done some reconnaissance, there's no way of knowing for certain how their appearance might have changed over the many cycles since the original convoy left. They may have evolved over time to resemble you and your crew more closely."

"I suppose that is possible," said Helar.

"Helar, let's concern ourselves with that when we have more information on the appearance of Sarkad natives," said Janeway. "I think our first priority at the moment should be determining the precise location of the planet so that we can set a course."

"Agreed," said Helar.

Janeway turned to her staff. "Neelix, we could use the small map you bought on the station. Between it and your starcharts, Seven should be able to pull together a starchart that will give us a better idea of exactly where Sarkad and its surrounding worlds are located than what's on the quadlets at this point."

"Of course, Captain. Anything I can do to help," said Neelix.

"Captain Helar, it would streamline the overall mission for us if your Officer Jerat could work with Seven and Mr. Paris to coordinate all your reconnaissance efforts with ours once we've established a definite course for Sarkad," said Janeway. "Since your people will be surveying the nearby worlds, it would save wasted effort if Mr. Jerat could be in from the beginning to facilitate the sharing of any information your teams find."

"Of course, Captain Janeway," replied Helar.

"There's nothing further to be discussed until we have more information, so I would suggest we reconvene once our surveys are complete," said Janeway. "Agreed?"

Helar inclined his head in agreement amid the chorus of ayes from _Voyager's_ senior staff. On that note, the briefing adjourned.

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 18:  
**Monday, February 21, 2377  
Stardate 54141.6

En route to Sarkad

The Ready Room, 1614 hours:

"Tom got back a little while ago," said Janeway to Chakotay as she handed him a cup of tea, "and I've already commed Helar and arranged a briefing for 1630." She walked around the desk to sit down and pull up some information on her monitor.

"And you've had enough time to get everything organized enough to hold a briefing?"

"I'm nearly finished with _Voyager's_ analysis, Chakotay. Tom sent all of his data and scans back hours ago once he was in communications range, and Helar's people have already transmitted all of what his teams found to Seven as well. She's working with Jerat on making sense of it while I've spent the better part of this afternoon going over Tom's data. Tuvok's looked at it too, so I just need Seven's analysis to finalize the away mission. We should have that for the briefing. She's finishing up as we speak."

Janeway turned her monitor to face Chakotay as she got up and walked around the desk to sit in the chair next to him. She reached over and tapped in a few commands to bring up a visual scan of the temple complex. "Take a look."

After several moments of study, Chakotay said, "It's magnificent. I just wish I knew where to start looking."

"The beacon locator will certainly make it easier," said Janeway. "I suspect we won't get too much help from the map on this, so I've already decided that the away team will also pose as pilgrims to scout out the temple grounds and interior. The last quadlet could be anywhere in the complex, but Tuvok thinks that it's probably hidden somewhere in the main temple building itself. The last piece you found was well concealed, but the location made sense logically speaking, or so he said."

"True. The temple's pretty big. We could find an area that's not used anymore or with restricted access. I doubt one of the clerics is going to just walk up and hand us a quadlet, unless it happens to be Icheb."

They both chuckled over that thought briefly before Janeway said, "It's reassuring to know that Icheb has been our guiding angel when it came to finding the first two quadlets. I know Seven would prefer that he was still aboard _Voyager_, but I've finally accepted that his leaving was the right decision for him." Janeway sighed and said, "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time over it when we were at Abras."

"No need to apologize, Kathryn. You've always taken losing a crewmember very much to heart, but this time one of your chicks has left the nest and is going on to soar."

"There's that," she replied.

"And speaking of chicks, isn't it about time for our meeting with Helar and his people?"

"Chakotay!" Janeway didn't bother with hiding the grin on her face.

"There's quite an avian resemblance with those feathers, isn't there? Did I tell you what Naomi said about them?"

"Oh, go ahead. Get it all out of your system before we have to go meet with them," said Janeway.

"Did you see her painting of the bird she saw in the zoo?"

"Yes. What a beautiful creature."

"Well, Naomi brought it to my office to show me, and asked if I thought the Tarkada looked a little bit like her painting."

Janeway remembered the scene in Astrometrics with Jerat and Naomi several days ago, and burst out with a belly laugh.

"Kathryn?"

"She came to Astrometrics to show me the painting when we were still on Sirana," said Janeway, still chuckling. "Seven and Jerat were working together to see if they could locate the Tarkada homeworld when Tuvok and I joined them because we wanted to check out a few changes in the map. Naomi stopped by to visit with Seven, and when I introduced her to Jerat, she looked back and forth between him and the painting a few times before she finally shook his hand."

Janeway grinned at the loud guffaw from Chakotay. "To her credit, she didn't make the comparison out loud. I just wish our dear Doctor could be as diplomatic."

"No argument there," said Chakotay. "Do you think it's going to take much cosmetic work for the Tarkada to pass as pilgrims?"

"Obviously, I haven't seen the results of their reconnaissance yet, but judging from Tom's scans, I don't think so. There appears to be a good number of blue-skinned natives with varying shades of complexion, so the skin tone shouldn't pose too much of a problem."

"Does this mean that the map team needs to appear cyanotic too? I can't quite picture Tuvok in blue."

Janeway rolled her eyes and snickered, saying, "I haven't decided yet." Becoming serious, she said, "Tom's visuals showed quite a few humanoid species entering the temple. The Tarkada surveys should also give us a better idea about any additional changes that might be useful. I'm sure Helar and his crew would enjoy their visit to the temple a lot more if they didn't have to use their stealth cloaks. I'll see if I can prevail upon the Doctor to rein in his ego a bit when suggesting cosmetic alterations."

"I don't envy you that task," said Chakotay, "although if you manage to do it, I'm sure we'll all be grateful." Janeway just rolled her eyes again. "Ready?" he asked as he rose from his seat. "It's time."

--

The Briefing Room, 1638 hours:

The meeting between the senior staff and the Tarkada had barely gotten started when the door opened to admit Neelix and a large rolling cart containing a wide variety of food.

When Tuvok started to object, Janeway raised her hand and said, "I authorized it, Tuvok. We're going to be in here for a while, and I agreed with Neelix when he told me there was no point in trying to work on an empty stomach if we didn't have to."

"Thank you, Captain," said Neelix. He turned to the Tarkada and said, "Captain Helar, I've prepared several delicacies with fineek for you and your people, along with some of our crew's usual fare." Seeing puzzled faces aound the table, Neelix hastened to explain. "That's leola root to the rest of you, and it's a staple of the Tarkada diet." He looked to Janeway and said, "I shared some of my extra crop with the Tarkada, since they haven't been able to grow their own native variety on the _Prosperous Journey._ They haven't had leola root in a very long time, and I wanted to do something to help out our new friends. I know should have asked you first, but when I told the Commander what I'd done, he said it was okay."

"It's not a problem, Neelix," said Janeway. "Leola root grows like the proverbial weed in our airponics bay, so I'm sure there won't be a shortage any time soon."

"Oh, no chance of that," said Neelix. He was too focused on the captain to notice a few pained expressions and rolled eyes at the thought of plentiful leola root.

Everyone then proceeded to fill a plate for themselves and eat, making pleasant small talk as they enjoyed their meal. After about a half hour, Janeway said, "All right, people, let's get down to business. Captain Helar, you were about to show us the results of your reconnaissance."

"We completed our analysis shortly after you contacted us about this meeting, and I had Jerat transmit the information to your star mapping laboratory," said Helar. "I believe Officer Seven has already uploaded the relevant images to your databanks," said Helar.

Seven rose from her place at the table and walked over to the wall monitor. She looked to Janeway for permission to proceed, and the captain nodded. The display slowly scrolled through a series of still and animated shots of a dozen or so individuals from each of several different species living on the five worlds closest to Sarkad. All were humanoid in appearance, with a wide range of skin tones: fair-skinned, shades of brown ranging from tan to dark chestnut, and varying shades of blue, the majority lighter and with fainter markings than Captain Helar and his crew members present in the briefing room. In addition, a good number of individuals among all the species represented had ridges and protuberances that gave them somewhat of a reptilian appearance, with a coarser skin texture and distinct patches of color defining their features. It was obvious to everyone in the briefing room that some of the orginal five Tarkada races had indeed survived and intermarried, both among themselves and the neighboring worlds.

"Mr. Paris's scans were quite similar, Helar," said Janeway, "although from what I've seen, there are more individuals on Sarkad itself with skin coloring and markings closer to that of you and your crew." She walked over to the wall monitor and punched in several commands to bring up the video scans that Paris had taken.

Everyone watched as the scenes in the temple complex and nearby temple city unfolded. The inhabitants of Sarkad did indeed closely resemble the Tarkada with the exception of markedly smaller feather crests, and facial markings and skin tone which appeared slightly faded in comparison with the more robust appearance of Helar and his crew.

Janeway turned to the EMH and said, "Doctor, it appears that any cosmetic changes will be minimal, wouldn't you agree?"

"That's essentially correct, Captain, with the exception of the feather crests."

Chakotay stepped in before the EMH could wax grandiose about his abilities as a cosmetic artiste. "I don't think that will present a problem, Doctor." Chakotay got up and walked over to the wall monitor, where he punched in a few commands to replay an earlier portion of Paris's video scan of the temple exterior. "If you'll pay close attention to the people entering and leaving the temple, you'll see that everyone is wearing a robe with a close–fitting hood. Essentially, all that is visible are their hands and faces."

"A keen observation, Commander," said Tuvok. "It appears to be the local custom for all pilgrims to wear this type of garment when visiting the temple complex. This presents us with an advantage that will allow us to easily conceal our technology when we visit the main temple for the initial reconnaissance. I would advise that the away team wear hidden miniaturized holorecorders to make a video record of our tour. It would be useful information for study purposes in determining the exact whereabouts of the final quadlet, should its location not be immediately apparent. Such a record would certainly aid in navigating the temple interior for its retrieval, should that prove necessary."

"That's an excellent suggestion, Tuvok," said Janeway. "I'll authorize it. B'Elanna, have your department take care of it."

"I'll get right on it myself once we're done here," Torres answered. "You'll have the holorecorders by the time the away team is ready to go, and I'll figure out a way to streamline the memory modules that everyone will be wearing under their robes so that the extra bulk won't show and give them away. They should be able to record the entire tour."

The Doctor piped up, saying, "Those robes will make my job easier too." Turning to Helar, the EMH said, "Since all that will be visible is face and hands, it won't be necessary to alter your natural coloration and markings very much beyond those areas, if at all. I would also suggest adding a few facial ridges and distinctive marking from some of the more common species that most closely resemble the Tarkada. I would vary the alterations, of course. Your crew would undoubtedly enjoy their visit to the temple much more peacefully if a sudden influx of identical-appearing people did not draw unwanted attention."

"A wise precaution, Doctor," said Tuvok, "and one that would prevent undue attention to the away team as well, since we will join up with the first group of Tarkada visitors for our initial recon of the temple interior."

"Just so that we're clear," said Tom Paris, "_Voyager's_ away team doesn't have to go blue, do we? I mean, no offense, but just look at Neelix with that nice golden skin of his – blue and yellow make green. No offence, Neelix, but I don't think green is your color."

Just as Tuvok was about to harrumph, Chakotay said, "What's the matter, Paris? Afraid your wife won't find you attractive any more if your skin matches those pretty blue eyes of yours?"

"Oh, I think helmboy would be adorable with baby blue skin and spots, don't you agree, B'Elanna?" asked Kim.

"Leave me out of this, Harry," said Torres with a snicker and a poorly-concealed smirk.

Helar looked on with an amused smile as he watched the interactions among the Voyagers. He was secretly pleased that they were not the ruthless beings that Gunlag had made them out to be, but rather people not all that different from his own crew. He cleared his throat lightly, and everyone's attention turned to him.

"Doctor, what would be involved in this procedure of yours? Is it lengthy?"

"Not overly so," replied the EMH. "For all his feeble attempts at humor, Mr. Paris is actually a competent medic. He would assist me in first altering your crew's complexion slightly, after which I would perform plastic surgery to add a few minor details to allow your people to pass as members of the species we've just observed. I assure you that it will all be quite painless, and as Captain Janeway said earlier, I can easily restore your original appearance once we are underway again."

"Amazing," said Jerat.

"I am programmed with the experience of 47 physicians and over 2,000 medical references, Mr. Jerat. 'Amazing' is my stock in trade," said the EMH.

"Something for which we're very grateful, Doctor," said Janeway, hoping to curb any further boasting.

"That is quite reassuring to hear, Doctor," said Helar. "I have 53 aboard the Prosperous Journey, including myself. What kind of schedule would you prefer?"

"One that proceeds in two stages, Captain Helar," said the Doctor. "As I said, I would like to begin with the pigmentation changes. It's a very simple matter, and Mr. Paris will assist me. Once that stage is well underway, I will leave it in his hands so I can look over the reconnaissance data to decide which surgical enhancements will best serve your purpose. Once I begin those procedures, they will take longer than the initial alterations, of course, but as I understand it, we have another day or so before we reach Sarkad."

"And that will be sufficient time for you?" asked Helar.

"Yes, Captain Helar. As a hologram, I do not require rest, so if we begin the skin tone alterations immediately with any crew members that are not on duty or asleep, that will give me some leeway to do my study once Mr. Paris takes over. When I begin the surgeries with those of your crew with altered complexions, I will continue around the clock until everyone has been taken care of." He turned to Janeway, who nodded her approval.

"Then I request that you begin with the four of us that are already present on Voyager," said Helar. If you would be so kind as to take Dinsar and Dursat first, I will have them return to the _Prosperous_ _Journey_ to set up a rotation for the first stage. Perhaps you could use some of the time that process will take for your study once you have finished with Jerat and myself. I would not wish you to burden you with long hours."

"That is a better use of my time, Captain Helar," said the Doctor, "but as I said, I'm a hologram, and as such, I don't tire. No rest for the never weary, you know."

Helar chuckled and said, "I've never met a doctor quite like you. If I send my people in groups of four or five every one of your hours once we establish the rota for the first stage, would that be acceptable?"

"Perfectly," replied the Doctor. He turned to Janeway and said, "Captain, if I'm no longer needed for this briefing, I'd like to begin immediately."

"Fine, Doctor." She turned to Helar. "Helar, if you and your crew wish to accompany the Doctor to Sickbay to begin the process, I can brief you later on any other relevant discussion."

"That would be acceptable, Captain Janeway. I know you understand how eager we are to see our place of origin. The sooner we can take the necessary steps to make that a reality, the happier my crew and I will be."

"Then I will contact you later," said Janeway. With that, the Doctor and the four Tarkada left the briefing room for Sickbay.

Paris waited until the briefing room doors closed behind the Doctor and his party and then asked, "Seriously, Captain, are we going to go blue as well?"

"I haven't decided," said Janeway with a wicked twinkle in her eye.

"Don't push your luck, flyboy," said Torres.

"Both the Commander and I could pass for species with similar pigmentation from the more distant worlds," said Tuvok. "All that is necessary would be cosmetic changes to add texture to our faces and hands."

"That's true," said Chakotay. "I am concerned about Neelix, though," he said, with a glance at the Talaxian.

"So am I, Captain," said Neelix. "Tom may have made a bad joke at my expense, but we do need to ask the Doctor what he can do for me. I resemble the people in these scans the least of any of you, and I do want to contribute to this mission."

"Neelix, we'll discuss that with the Doctor after he finishes up with the Tarkada," said Janeway. "I want to keep the map team together, and your people skills are much too valuable for me not to use them during the initial survey of the temple. We'll need useful anecdotal information to narrow our search, and you have a way of winning people's trust so that they open up and talk to you. Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

"Thank you, Captain," said Neelix, obviously relieved.

"Captain, what about the robes?" asked Harry Kim. "We may need to replicate some for the Tarkada. I don't think they have that technology."

"Good point," said Chakotay.

"When I speak with Captain Helar later, I'll bring it up," said Janeway. "Neelix, you could help us with that. If the Tarkada do end up needing robes, I'll ask you to coordinate with one of his people on measurements. I expect he'll want to send his crew in small groups to the temple so that they don't draw too much attention. We could produce a dozen or so robes in generic sizes that should easily accommodate his people."

"I think that will be a definite possibility, Captain," said Neelix. "I didn't notice any replicators the last time I was over there."

"I'll let you know, Neelix," said Janeway. She turned her attention to the rest of the senior staff. "Tuvok, it's still a little early to bring this up, but what are your recommendations for the initial recon?"

"Mr. Barzeran informed Neelix that regular tours are given of the temple complex. I believe the probable location of the final quadlet will be somewhere within the main temple itself. Since the edifice is quite large, the visual record for later planning purposes will be most crucial. Given the robes we will all be wearing, concealing holorecorders on each team member will be a simple matter. I would advise using the transporter armbands, along with the usual technology we have had in the past to obtain pieces of the map. Since we will be gathering information only on this initial away mission, I do not see the necessity of an interlink connection for Commander Chakotay at this time."

Janeway saw that Seven of Nine was about to object about the lack of the connection. "I trust Tuvok's judgment on this, Seven, but I would like you to to send down surveillance microprobes to the temple complex and surrounding city. There's nothing in the data I've seen thus far to suggest that this society is anything but peaceful, but we've been wrong before. I'll reconsider Tuvok's recommendation if the surveillance proves otherwise.'

"I will comply," said Seven.

"Chakotay, I will ask that you use the interlink connection for the mission to retrieve the map, however. The temple complex appears to be as densely populated as the Nardonian marketplace. I'm still a little uneasy over the fact that Neelix was attacked on the Ontarian supply depot after he simply mentioned Abras. I have a hunch that some type of gossip about the map must be circulating in every Portal space, and I'd like to err on the side of caution in case it's following us around."

"Understood, Captain," said a resigned Chakotay.

"If there's nothing further?" Janeway looked around the briefing room. "Dismissed."

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 20:  
**Wednesday, February 23, 2377  
Stardate 54146.1

On Sarkad, 0750 hours:

Tom Paris set the cloaked _Delta Flyer_ down in a remote clearing in the forest near the temple complex. Thick early morning fog hung close to the ground and shrouded the surrounding trees, making visibility poor. Chakotay pulled out his hidden tricorder to get a fix on the direction in which they needed to walk to reach their destination, and the team set off to hike the kilometer or so to the nearest road which led to the Temple of Arkad.

As the away team approached the main building in the complex, Chakotay felt his beacon locator snap on while they were still some ten meters from the tour group gathered outside the temple gates. Chakotay quietly instructed the team, saying, "Look sharp, people. My beacon locator just turned itself on, so it's here someplace nearby. My money's on the temple."

They joined the people milling around in front of the gate and mingled in with the Tarkada, who held themselves slightly apart from the rest of the tour group. Neelix spoke a few words to Jerat, who was fortunate enough to be among the first from his ship to visit the temple, along with Dinsar and Dursat. The three Tarkada easily managed to recognize the away team, despite their altered appearance.

Both Tuvok and Chakotay had been surgically altered to resemble the more reptilian species on some of the more distant worlds in the vicinity of Sarkad. Their skin coloration remained essentially unchanged, but the Doctor had altered their complexion's texture to make it coarser and scaly. He had sculpted their noses to be more snoutlike, and added a set of three ridges of large scales that began at the underside of the nose. The central ridge rose straight up the nasal bridge and into the hairline, while the ridge on either side of the central one ran upward along the side of the nose and then arced across the forehead in place of eyebrows. In addition, the EMH had made Tuvok's and Chakotay's cheekbones more prominent and shelflike. It was no surprise that they both resembled a variant species of the Voth, who had originally migrated to the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant from Earth millions of years before. Judging by some of the local species the reconnaissance surveys had turned up, the Voth had evidently left some their DNA behind along the way as they traveled on their cityships.

Neelix's natural golden complexion had been darkened to a medium shade of tan, with the spotted body markings and the whiskers along his jawline removed. His face was thus very plain and unremarkable, easily forgettable without two of the distinguishing characteristics of his species. Neelix was initially distressed over the alterations, but then realized that his somewhat nondescript appearance would tend to make people preceive him as a harmless, even slow-witted individual. He felt that between the non-threatening appearance and his natural friendliness, people would underestimate him and open up to tell him things that they otherwise would not have disclosed.

Tom Paris, on the other hand, was just grateful that his skin tone hadn't been altered to any shade of blue. Its texture had been coarsened to have a grainy, froglike appearance with similar reptilian markings of that species. His hair had been darkened to a nondescript brown, and his nose made into a snout with a nostril on either side. In the final briefing before the mission, Harry Kim took one look at his friend and snickered, while Torres tried unsuccessfully to hide a smirk. Kim made certain to wish "Mr. Toad" good luck as he left the briefing room to pilot the _Delta Flyer_ down to the planet.

The large wooden doors to the walled temple courtyard creaked open. An acolyte emerged and gestured for the assembled group to follow him. The dense fog made it impossible to see more than a few meters in any direction, but the courtyard could be more accurately described as a plaza, given its apparent size. Judging from the small area the away team could discern through the thick fog, at least a portion of it was planted as a formal meditation garden. An enormous column of native rock rose straight up from the center of the plaza, its top disappearing into the mist.

"I wonder how high up it goes," said Neelix.

"And I wonder why someone would leave it stuck in the middle of this courtyard to begin with," said Paris. "It's a dumb place to have a column of rock if you ask me," he muttered, sotto voce.

Neelix shushed him and stepped forward quickly to the acolyte guiding them. "Good sir," said Neelix, "my friends and I were wondering about this large pillar in the middle of the courtyard. Does it have a special significance?"

"To explain its purpose at this moment would mean ruining the temple experience for you," said the acolyte. "Trust that its place in the order of things will become clear later in our journey through the temple."

"All right, then, my good young man. I wouldn't want to get in the way of anything special you have planned for us," said Neelix. He remembered the watercolor he had bought at Barzeran's shop, but kept his hunch to himself as to what the column might actually be.

The acolyte nodded genially and said, "Trust me when I say that the wait for its significance to be revealed will be worthwhile." Neelix thanked the man and rejoined the away team.

"So?" asked an impatient Paris.

"They'll let us know later on in the tour," said Neelix. "The guide said it's worth waiting for." Paris just rolled his eyes and sighed.

When the away team entered the temple proper, Chakotay noticed that the vibrations from his beacon locator diminished, and continued to do so the deeper he walked into the interior. They remained at a low level as the group progressed through the various chambers of the temple in a circuitous route, viewing religious art in the form of sculpture, paintings, and elaborately decorated vestments and sacred objects that had been used by renowned clerics in ceremonies and services over the centuries since the temple had been erected.

When Tom Paris's boredom began to show at one point, Chakotay was forced to take him aside and speak to him about calling attention to the away team with his behavior. Realizing that a goal would keep the helmsman's attention focused, Chakotay said, "Paris, I don't think your obvious boredom will help us maintain our low profile as tourists."

"No offense, Chief, but temples just aren't my thing," said Paris.

"Why am I not surprised," said Chakotay with an obvious touch of sarcasm. "As long as we're recording this tour anyway, have you even considered making a holoprogram out of it for the people on _Voyager_ who are never going to get a chance to see it, like, oh... say, the Captain? She loved your Crystal Palace program."

"That one was pretty straightforward,"

"Then think of this as a challenge to your holographic skills," he said. "There's a lot more detail here than in the Crystal Palace or Sandrine's. Think you're up to it?"

That got Paris's attention and competitive juices flowing, and there were no further lapses into boredom on his part.

The tour continued, with the group stopping at one point for several minutes to observe a Morning Prayer ritual. They then continued on to the temple's library, which over the centuries had become the focal point of a noted center of learning. The tour lingered in the library as the acolyte showed them well preserved illuminated sacred texts, some of which dated back to the era of the temple's construction and before.

As the tour approached the front of the temple again, Chakotay felt the vibrations from his locator begin to intensify back up to near their previous level. The acolyte glanced out through the open entranceway, and commented that the morning fog had finally burned off. He led his charges over to one side, where there were two staircases, a typical one of stone and the other a filigree metalwork spiral staircase, both leading to the temple's upper levels, which the group had yet to see. Neelix was intrigued by the spiral staircase and already had his foot on the first rung when the acolyte stopped him.

"That path is for the artisan priests only," he said.

"My apologies, good sir," answered Neelix. "Where does it go? Living quarters, I presume?"

"If you will be so kind as to follow me, you will see for yourself," said the acolyte. That said, he turned and led the group up the stone staircase, which also followed much broader spiral in its upward direction. At the top of the staircase, they could see an open arch, and beyond the arch, a clay-tiled terrace onto which the acolyte led the group. As they stepped out into the open, Chakotay felt the vibrations from his beacon locator ramp up. He made eye contact with Tuvok and nodded slightly. Tuvok acknowledged Chakotay's nod with a barely perceptible one of his own.

The group walked further out onto the narrow terrace just past the arch, and found themselves looking out at the temple city, which was nestled in a small valley visible in the far distance below them. The acolyte called the group's attention to a wide natural stone bridge leading out from the center of the terrace to the stone column they had encountered in the middle of the courtyard as they had begun the tour. It had a small, square detached portico set on its flattened top. Upon closer observation, the column of rock turned out to actually be a small butte, freestanding at a distance from the base of the mountain range where the temple had been built, with the stone bridge attached to it being a natural phenomenon that had occurred when the softer underlying stone had eroded away. Both the away team and the Tarkada recognized the detached portico sitting atop the pillar from the watercolor Neelix had bought at Barzeran's.

The acolyte said, "The structure you see at the end of the bridge has been a favorite place for meditation since the temple was erected. The carved figures supporting the roof at the corners represent four ancient sister goddesses that are guardians of the four cardinal directions. If you study them more closely, you'll see that they are paired north-south and east-west. That is because the sisters are two sets of twins. The figure you see at the apex of the roof is another sister, the oldest of the five. She is guardian over her younger siblings. All five are the daughters of the temple's namesake, our principal goddess, Arkad."

Chakotay cast a glance over at the Tarkada, knowing how much this visit meant to them. Dursat was almost beside himself with joy at the realization that part of his ancient past had come down virtually unchanged to the present day, while Dinsar smiled indulgently at his twin's excitement.

The acolyte led the group across the stone bridge to the portico, saying, "The fog you saw when you arrived for the tour is an unusual natural phenomenon not usually present at this elevation. As a rule, fog banks as heavy as this morning's are found in lower-lying areas, such as the valley. The temple mist is usually gone by mid-morning, which affords visitors in the initial tour group of the day a highly dramatic first sighting of Sarkad's most precious spiritual treasure."

With that, the acolyte asked the group to turn back and face the temple. They let out a collective gasp at the sight that greeted them. An enormous, vividly colored fresco covered the entire central portion of the temple façade, reaching from the bottom of the terrace to the top of the temple.

"Neelix's painting didn't do this justice," said Chakotay.

"Indeed," responded Tuvok.

"This work of art was created millennia ago by the original inhabitants of Sarkad just prior to the Great Migration," said the acolyte. "As you can see now that the fog has lifted, Arkad's temple was hewn into the rockface of this mountainside with the façade arcing around this column in a broad semicircle, following the natural curvature of the peak. The surface of the central portion of the arc was planed flat to provide a base for the plaster material laid down to create this fresco."

"You spoke of a Great Migration," said Jerat.

"Yes," said the acolyte. "This most revered work of art is our one remaining link to the ancient past. Before the Great Plague struck millennia ago, Sarkad was a world of five peaceful races with a rich and diverse culture. In order to preserve at least a part of their civilization, those untouched by the plague set out in colony ships to find a new world to settle on where the sickness had not reached. They painted this fresco as a farewell gift to those who chose to remain behind, so that their accomplishments and history would never be forgotten. Generations of our artisan priests have devoted their lives to maintaining this last remnant of our ancestors."

Tuvok said, "That must be an all-consuming task, given that this fresco is outdoors."

"It is well protected from the elements by a polarization field," said the acolyte, "and also from those extremists with agendas who would seek to make a political statement by climbing up the facade to deface it. However, the field does not protect the fresco from the natural aging process of the materials used to create it, nor does it prevent the colors from fading in the sunlight. Our artisan priests maintain and restore the fresco on a regular basis, along with their usual duties to care for the various religious objects within the temple precincts and create new ones as required."

"And that spiral staircase leads to the polarization field controls," said Neelix.

"Yes, and to the workshop devoted to the maintenance and restoration of the fresco and all artwork and religious objects within the temple," said the acolyte. "Only the most senior artisan priests are allowed to access the controls that lower the polarization field, although all them use the room in their work. As an extra precaution against intruders, the stairwell is guarded at night."

"No doubt a wise policy," said Tuvok. The guide nodded.

"You were right, kind sir," said Neelix. "This was definitely worth the wait." The acolyte beamed.

Tuvok, meanwhile, had moved away to the left of the group and stood by himself, quietly studying the fresco from his vantage point at the waist-high wall surrounding the perimeter of the portico.

Chakotay moved over to him and began, "Tuvok..."

"Polarization frequency already recorded," said the Vulcan, low enough for only Chakotay's ears to hear. "Your device?"

"The vibrations are pretty steady," Chakotay replied in an equally soft tone. "They got stronger as I moved over here to the left, as we face the fresco. My guess would be that it's probably in this area," he said, gesturing as if he was pointing out a particular feature he wanted his crewmate to pay attention to.

"Agreed," said Tuvok. "Retrieval will pose a considerable degree of difficulty."

"You're right about that. B'Elanna's pretty ingenious, though," said Chakotay. "She'll figure something out."

"Indeed."

The tour group remained on the portico for another twenty minutes to admire the fresco and their surroundings, after which the acolyte led them back inside to tour the temple's upper levels.

--

On the walk back to the _Delta Flyer_:

"So you think the map is in the temple somewhere?" asked Neelix, who had been not privy to the glances passing back and forth between Tuvok and Chakotay.

"Yes," answered Chakotay. "My beacon locator turned on the minute we got near the temple gates, and the vibrations got weaker the farther I walked into the temple. The minute we stepped out onto the terrace and walked over to the portico, that's when they were the strongest."

"Then obviously it's somewhere at the very front of the temple."

"My feeling is that it's probably somewhere on the fresco," said Chakotay. "Good thing you asked about that staircase, Neelix. We're probably going to need to shut down the polarization field to get at the quadlet. I'm pretty sure that's where it is."

"We'd have to go in after the temple closed for the day to avoid being seen, and the guide said the staircase to the polarization field is guarded at night," said Neelix.

"That does present a problem, but we have the Tarkada stealth cloaks. We'll work all that out once we figure out exactly where the quadlet is."

"Speaking of which," said Paris, "any chance you could be more specific? That's a pretty big area to search," said Paris.

"Tuvok and I think we know where it is," answered Chakotay. "The problem will be getting to it."

"What problem?" asked Paris. "I say we just drive a couple of pitons into the mountainside above the the temple façade and rappel down. If we're really careful, there shouldn't be too much damage for them to have to fix later."

"One more idea like that, Paris," said Chakotay, "and I'll bust you all the way back down to crewman before I shoot you out an airlock, and I won't even bother to get the Captain's authorization first. We're not going to damage a priceless spiritual treasure just because you want to play cowboy."

"Wanna borrow Captain Proton's jet pack?"

"_Mr. Paris_," said Tuvok, in icy tones.

"That's what I love about Vulcans," said Paris. "No sense of humor." He took a breath and was about to say something else when Chakotay decided he'd heard enough.

"You're awfully close to being put on report for your attitude," said Chakotay. "The next words out of your mouth had better be something more befitting a bridge officer."

"Hey, calm down, Big Guy," said Paris. "I was just going to suggest that I drop off the the rest of you guys on _Voyager_, and come back with Harry to do a deep level molecular scan of the fresco. We have that nice cloak on the _Flyer_. Might as well get some use out of it."

"Now that's an idea I can get behind," said Chakotay. "I'll run it past the Captain once we're back on the _Flyer_."

"So then you're not going to reassign me to deuterium maintenance when you make up the next duty roster?" asked Paris.

"Don't push it, _Crewman_."

"Ouch."

After a few more minutes of uncomfortable conversation, the away team reached and boarded the _Delta Flyer_. Paris hurried to his seat and started the preflight check, glad for the reprieve from having to carry on a conversation with Chakotay, who had taken a seat at the ops console.

"Chakotay to Janeway."

"Janeway here. How'd the four of you do, Commander?"

"Tuvok and I think we know where the quadlet is. Apparently, it's part of a fresco on the temple façade, but it's protected by a polarization field. Since the Tarkada have so much experience with the technology, I think it would be a good idea for them to join us when we start planning how we're going to retrieve the quadlet."

"I'll speak to Helar," said Janeway. "Do you have any idea of its precise location?"

"No, Captain. The best Tuvok and I could do was make an educated guess. Paris suggested dropping off the rest of the team and coming right back down with Harry to do a deep molecular scan. They'd use the _Flyer's_ cloak to get close enough and pinpoint the exact spot for us."

"Good idea. I'll have Harry meet you in the shuttlebay. Janeway out."

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 21:  
**Thursday, February 24, 2377  
Stardate 54149.2

Briefing Room, 1059 hours:

_Voyager's_ senior staff and their Tarkada allies Helar, Jerat, Dinsar and Dursat were gathered around the Systems Operations wall monitor, where Paris's scans from the previous day clearly showed that the last quadlet of the Third Portal map was located very high up on the temple fresco, inaccessible from either the terrace or above.

"Assuming the away team manages to shut off the polarization field, how are they going to get to the quadlet?" asked Janeway. "I need options, people."

"How do the artist priests make their repairs to the fresco?" asked Neelix. "They have to climb up there somehow. Maybe if we got into their workroom, we could find out."

"They probably use some kind of scaffolding, Neelix," said Kim. "It would take us too long to erect something like that. Even if we could, it would attract too much attention. The team needs to get in and out as quickly as possible."

"Harry's right," said Janeway. "Shutting down the polarization field is probably the least of our concerns at the moment."

"Still, seeing what's in that workroom might provide a clue to retrieving the quadlet," said Chakotay. "We have the stealth cloaks, so getting in for a quick look around after hours wouldn't present a major problem."

"The stairway leading up to the workroom is guarded. You'd have to get past one or more people," said Neelix.

"It would be risky, but we could use the cloaks to enter the temple during the day, and then wait someplace out of the way until they close down for the night," said Chakotay. "Tuvok, what do you think?"

"The entrance to the temple interior from the terrace is an open archway," said Tuvok. "It is conceivable that the away team could be transported onto the terrace when there was no tour group present and carefully make their way inside to the workroom."

"You would have to go during the day," said Kim. "When Tom and I scanned the fresco, we checked the entire temple façade area and found field emitters surrounding that archway. They use a forcefield to protect the interior either from bad weather or intruders after dark, I would guess. We stayed long enough to scan and get the frequency."

"Excuse me, Captain Janeway," said Dinsar, "but may I see the specifications for the fresco's polarization field?" Janeway nodded, and Kim entered several commands on the monitor's keypad to bring up the data. Dinsar studied it intently.

"It is as I thought," he said. "Brother, do you see this?" Dinsar asked, pointing out a particular data series to Dursat. He turned to Janeway and said, "Captain Janeway, this polarization shield bears remarkable similarities to our stealth cloaks. It would be possible to reconfigure a stealth cloak in such a manner that the wearer could reach through the field protecting the fresco and retrieve the map piece that way. There would be no need to enter the temple and risk detection by setting off an alarm or inadvertently alerting a guard to your presence."

"We didn't even consider the possibility that the polarization field or the temple might have an alarm," said Chakotay. "Are you certain about this, Dinsar?"

"My brother is correct," said Dursat. "We use similar polarization fields on Tarkada for security purposes. They are generally configured so that if any portion of the field is shut down or tampered with, an alarm sounds. That would not be the case with the adjustments I am considering."

"Our guide did mention having to protect the painting from people who might want to damage it," said Neelix. "It makes sense there would be an alarm."

"All right," said Janeway. "That's a better idea than trying to get inside to shut off the field without being detected. Dinsar, can you teach my away team how to use the stealth cloaks?" Dinsar looked to Helar, who nodded.

"Easily," said Dinsar. "It would take approximately one of your hours."

"All right, then, thank you, Dinsar," said Janeway. She turned to Helar. "If we could do that after we finish up here?" He nodded his approval. She turned back to the rest of the group and asked, "Now, how does the team get up to where the quadlet is to retrieve it? Suggestions?"

Tom Paris cleared his throat and said, "Um... Captain?"

"Is this another one of your half-witted ideas, Paris?" interrupted Chakotay, still peeved at the helmsman for his suggestion that they rappel down the surface of the fresco.

"Chill, Commander," said Paris.

"Chill?" asked Neelix, completely puzzled.

"It's another one of Tom's quaint 20th century expressions, Neelix," said Kim. "I'll explain later."

"Just hear me out, Captain, that's all I ask," said Paris. "We know where the quadlet is, and we have the stealth cloaks, thanks to our friends the Tarkada."

"I'm listening," said Janeway.

"Dinsar said he can configure the stealth cloaks so that someone could reach through the polarization field without setting off any alarms, right?"

"Go on."

"Well, how about we put Tuvok in a harness and lower him from the cloaked _Flyer_?" Now that we know exactly where the quadlet is, I can hover the shuttle right above the spot, and Tuvok could just reach out and grab it."

"Or we could just transport it off the fresco," said Kim.

"Not a chance, Starfleet," said Torres. "I've already thought of that. The polarization field won't let us transport anything inside it."

"Tuvok?" asked Janeway.

"That is the most practical suggestion put forth thus far," said Tuvok. "The risk of detection would be minimal. I would ask, however, that Mr. Dinsar join the away team on the _Delta_ _Flyer_ to monitor the frequency of the stealth cloak I will be wearing. No insult intended to Lieutenant Torres, but this is technology with which the Tarkada have had experience for many years."

"No insult taken," said Torres. "It's a good suggestion."

"Dinsar?" asked Janeway.

"I would be pleased to join your mission with the permission of my captain," Dinsar said. Janeway looked over at Helar, who nodded his approval.

"Captain," said Torres, "I'd like to be included in this mission as well. Someone needs to keep a constant eye on the machinery we'd be using to lower Tuvok. Kahless forbid that anything would go wrong with the mission, but in case it did, we shouldn't have Tuvok left dangling in mid-air because he can't be brought back onboard with everyone else otherwise occupied. Being that close to the polarization field would make it tricky to use the transporter except in a dire emergency."

"Good idea, B'Elanna. Join the away team," said Janeway.

"Captain Janeway," said Helar, "I would advise that Officer Jerat be included as well. He could monitor the ship cloak and leave your Officer Paris free to concentrate on his piloting."

"Tom?" asked Janeway.

"I'd appreciate the help, Captain," said Paris "When Harry and I did the molecular scan, we found out that the air currents near the temple can be a little unpredictable."

"All right," said Janeway. "Thank you, Helar. Offer accepted." She addressed the entire group, saying, "We'll do this tonight at 1900." She turned to Helar and his crewmen and said, "That should give everyone on the _Prosperous Journey_ that hasn't visited the temple yet enough time to do so before our mission. If something does go wrong, we may need to leave in a hurry."

"Let us hope that will not be the case," said Helar.

"No argument there, Helar," said Janeway. "Tuvok, after Dinsar has instructed the away team in the use of the stealth cloaks, I want you to sit down with him, the rest of the away team, B'Elanna, and Jerat to work out the specifics of the mission. Have your report on my desk as soon as possible."

"Acknowledged," said Tuvok.

"You'll have it, Captain," said Paris.

"All right, people," she said. "Let's get it done. Dismissed."

--

On the _Delta Flyer_, above the temple fresco, 1947 hours:

After much discussion and Paris's recommendations in light of the air currents he encountered near the temple façade, the team had decided that Tuvok would use a weighted chain link and metal bar ladder in addition to the harness for as much of his descent as possible to retrieve the remaining quadlet of the Third Portal map. He would let go of the ladder only if necessary to reach the quadlet.

"We're in position. You ready, Tuvok?" called out Tom Paris over the comm system.

"I am indeed," Tuvok replied. He stepped up to the _Delta_ _Flyer's _open rear hatch. Torres double checked his harness for the last time, the cable attached to it, and the winch that she would use to lower him further should Tuvok need to step off the ladder to reach the quadlet. She made certain that the pouch he wore containing the two fused quadlets of the Third Portal map and the single unfused one recovered thus far was securely attached to the harness and within easy reach.

"You're good to go, Tuvok," said Torres. "Just climb down as you normally would, and the cable should play out smoothly. Let me know if you're going to step off the ladder, because I'll have to lock down the mechanism and run the cable out manually if you need more length. I've set up a monitor with an external feed to give me a visual on your progress."

"Acknowledged," said Tuvok. He activated a tricorder in a holster strapped to the harness, and then stepped through the polarization field Dinsar had set up across the open hatch to mask the interior of the Flyer from view. He began to make his way down the ladder. As he reached the level at which the quadlet was located, he could clearly see the slightly elevated rectangular area where it was hidden under the paint of the fresco. Although the portion of the artwork under which it was located was near the edge and consisted of nondescript background, Tuvok still regretted the damage to the fresco that removing the quadlet would cause.

He withdrew the two fused quadlets from the pouch and reached through the polarization field to hold them up against the fresco. Nothing happened. Tuvok's brow furrowed with thought for a few moments and then he tapped his combadge.

"Lieutenant, I will need to step off the ladder so that I may use both hands to retrieve the quadlet. Please lock down the cable, but keep me at this level."

"Locking cable... and done," said Torres. "You're safe to move."

"Acknowledged." He took his feet off the ladder and slowly let go of the rung he was holding so that momentum would not cause him to swing back and forth once he was hanging free. He switched the fused set of quadlets he was holding to his left hand and withdrew the single remaining quadlet from the pouch. Tuvok then reached through the polarization field again to hold it up to the fresco below the elevated area that concealed the final quadlet.

Tuvok watched in amazement as the hidden quadlet oozed up through the surface of the fresco, leaving the painted surface undamaged. It solidified and popped free of the fresco, sliding on top of the quadlet Tuvok held in his right hand and began to fuse itself to it. Tuvok managed to get his fingers out of the way of the fusion process and was able to maneuever the already fused portion into his other hand once the process had worked far enough from one edge and begun to move across the quadlets. He switched the fusing quadlets back to his right hand once there was enough area for him to grip solidly and watched the changing configuation on the surface as the process continued to its conclusion.

He next felt a strong magnetic pull between the sets of quadlets he held in each hand, and allowed the pull to draw them together. Once they were adjacent, an unseen force yanked the portion from his right hand so that it slid over the quadlets in his left. Tuvok watched as they began to fuse together starting at the edge furthest from where he maintained his grip on the second set. Again, he grabbed the portion that had already fused with his right hand and then let go with his left so that the process could complete itself without interruption. While he doubted that his hand would have remained caught between the layers of quadlets for any length of time, he did not know if the process could be restarted if it stopped itself because it had encountered an obstacle.

The skywall sprang up around Tuvok and the _Delta Flyer_. As he felt himself begin to dematerialize, Tuvok's last thought (illogical though it was) before the transport was complete was to wonder if he would end up under the shuttle once back aboard _Voyager_. He rematerialized inside the shuttlebay, several feet from the _Flyer_. Torres and Chakotay barreled out of the still open hatch, and stopped short when they saw him, Third Portal map still in hand.

"I tried an emergency transport the moment I realized something was happening, Tuvok," said Torres. "I knew there wasn't enough time to reel you in with the winch."

"In the past, the map has been known to transport the team back to its point of origin when it completes itself, Lieutenant," said Tuvok. "As you know, there is also a telepathic component to it, which would explain my safe arrival in _Voyager's_ shuttlebay. My last conscious thought as I dematerialized was that I did not wish to be situated under the _Delta Flyer_ when we both rematerialized."

"That was lucky for you, Mr. Vulcan," said Neelix, who had emerged from the shuttle just behind Torres and Chakotay.

"I doubt that luck had anything to do with it," said Tuvok. "I surmise that we have only begun to see the extent of the map's powers."

"No wonder so many people are after it," said Torres.

"Janeway to away team."

"Chakotay here."

"Mr. Kim tells me that the _Flyer_ just materialized in the shuttlebay."

"Yes, Captain," answered Chakotay. "We're all fine, and Tuvok recovered the last quadlet. We have the entire Third Portal map now."

"That's good news," said Janeway. "Take a few minutes for yourselves, and then we'll meet in a half hour to debrief. Janeway out."

Janeway kept the debriefing short so that the away team could get some much needed rest before their next duty shift. Despite its clandestine nature, the mission itself had been a fairly routine one, with the major points of interest being the manner in which the hidden quadlet had oozed up through the fresco, and the map's ability to act upon Tuvok's desire not to be crushed under the _Delta Flyer_. Since both phenomena would require further analysis before there were any definitive explanations, Torres had insisted on taking the quadlet and Tuvok's tricorder to Engineering for analysis. Janeway had allowed it, asking only that Torres return the quadlet to Tuvok for his meditation when she was finished. Torres agreed, and with that, the debriefing was over.

--

Tuvok's quarters, 2258 hours.

Tuvok stared at the fused map gathered thus far and the Third Portal map lying beside it on the floor of his quarters as if doing so would cause them to fuse and divulge the information needed to set a course for the Third Portal. He had meditated over them for more than an hour, and the complete lack of any productive result had tried his patience to its limit. The vague annoyance he sensed within himself was disturbing, so he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to restore his equanimity before tapping his combadge.

"Tuvok to Janeway."

"Janeway. What is it, Tuvok?"

"Captain, I have had no success in fusing the Third Portal quadlets to the rest of the map, nor have I discerned any useful information as yet."

"Tuvok, why don't you get some rest and try again in the morning? Take your shift time before the briefing at 1100 for your meditation. I'll have Ayala cover Tactical."

"That would be acceptable, Captain," Tuvok answered. "I found the rematerialization process under the influence of the map to be unsettling. Perhaps rest would be beneficial."

"It probably will be, old friend," said Janeway. "We'll discuss whatever results you might get at the briefing. I'm going to ask the Tarkada to join us. They may have a few things to contribute."

"Perhaps, Captain," said Tuvok. "I will bid you good night, then."

"Good night, Tuvok. Rest well."

* * *

**Third Portal space, Day 22:  
**Friday, February 25, 2377  
Stardate 54152

Briefing Room, 1131 hours:

"The Third Portal quadlets refused to merge with the rest of the map, but my meditation produced several unexpected results," said Tuvok.

"Explain," said Janeway.

Tuvok passed the map around the table. "As you can clearly observe, the transparent portion of the map with the markings designating the location of the Tarkada homeworld has disappeared." Tuvok turned to Helar and his crew, saying, "My apologies to you, Captain Helar, but this leads me to the conclusion that your home planet will not be found in the region we enter after passing though the Third Portal. I expect that Fourth Portal space will an an alternate reality, if experience to date is any guide, and there is nothing about your ship or crew thus far that would lead me to believe you come from another dimension or timeline."

"I know that must be very disappointing for you, Helar," said Janeway.

"Indeed it is," said Helar, "but I suspected this might be the case as well. We are very far from our home, and I estimate the two wormholes we have traversed thus far have brought us somewhat less than halfway to our homeworld."

"You are welcome to travel with us for however long it takes to reach Tarkada," said Janeway. Helar inclined his head in thanks. Janeway turned back to Tuvok and said, "Anything else?"

"A starmap has emerged along with coordinates," said Tuvok. "There is, however, no new beacon frequency."

"Maybe we won't need a password this time," said Kim.

"Maybe, Harry," said Janeway, "but I wouldn't count on it. Looks like we'll find out when we get there."

Torres spoke up. "Captain, it may be a similar phenomenon to when we were locating the transceivers, where one frequency kept leading us to the next one until we reached the quadlet on the Ontarian Supply Depot. They all had to be within range of each other for the relay to work properly. Maybe we need to be at these coordinates for the map to fuse or open the Portal for us."

"That makes sense as a possibility," said Janeway. "I don't think that the people who scattered the map would leave a Portal without some kind of puzzle or a password to protect it." She noticed that Paris had snagged the map and was studying it. "Ready to set a course, Tom?"

"Just about, ma'am," he replied. "I'll need a little time with the quadlets, and I'd like to check it against the new information we programmed into the database from Neelix's map. Looks like it's nearby, though."

"All right, Tom," said Janeway. "Once you have the course laid in, transmit the data to the _Prosperous Journey_." Seeing that no one else in the room had anything else they wished to discuss, she said, "Dismissed."

--

At the coordinates, both ships at all stop:

_Voyager's_ Bridge, 1753 hours:

"There's nothing here," said Paris, who had remained at his post beyond the end of his shift, as had all of the senior bridge staff.

"Not quite, flyboy," said Torres from the secondary engineering station to her husband's right. "I'm reading a high concentration of verteron particles. I think what you want to say is 'there's nothing here _right_ _now'_."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Torres glared at him.

Tuvok came down to the helm from his post at Tactical, tricorder in hand. The accumulated map and the Third Portal map were lying side by side on Paris's console, and Tuvok scanned both for a new beacon frequency and found none. He closed the tricorder and stood lost in thought for a few moments.

"Tuvok?" asked Janeway.

"There is no new beacon frequency in either set of quadlets," said Tuvok. "Evidently, proximity to this Portal is not a factor in generating a new one to use as a password. I am uncertain as to how to proceed." He returned to the Tactical station.

"Well, we've had to broadcast frequencies to get through every Portal in the past," said Paris, "and we've accumulated a whole bunch of them in this Portal space. Let's try one."

"Do it, Mr. Kim," said Janeway. Kim chose the most recent frequency that had led them to the Ontarian Supply Depot.

"No result, Captain," said Kim.

"Try broadcasting the combined signal we found in the original quadlet from the Tarkada."

Kim broadcast the signal, again with no result. "Nothing, Captain. What about broadcasting them one right after another in the order we found them? Maybe that'll work."

"All right, Harry. Let's try that," said Janeway. Again nothing.

"Captain, we found the transceivers out of order because that plasma storm knocked one out of place," said Torres. "Why don't we broadcast the signals in the order we were _supposed_ to find them?"

"Good idea, B'Elanna. Do it, Harry."

The last frequency in the series had scarcely left Voyager when the Third Portal popped open before them. Motion on the helm console caught the bridge crew's attention, and they watched transfixed as the Third Portal map slid over the quadlets gathered previously and began to fuse itself to them.

"Bingo," said Paris just before the map fog sprang up around the helm console and hid him from sight. A fine mist began to rise around Tuvok's station as well.

"Harry, configure a signal with the frequencies in their proper order and set the series to broadcast continually," said Janeway.

Kim entered several commands and said, "Done."

"Open a channel to the _Prosperous Journey _and put it onscreen."

"Channel open."

"You have found the wormhole, Captain Janeway," said Helar, before Janeway could address him. "Congratulations."

Janeway acknowledged him with a nod. "Helar, we're transmitting the frequencies we used to open the Portal." She turned to Ops and motioned to Kim, who sent the data to the Tarkada. "We'll be broadcasting them on a continuously repeating band as we enter and travel through the Portal. I would advise you to do the same, and keep an open audio link with us."

"Agreed, Captain Janeway." Helar glanced down at the fog-enshrouded helm station where images of stars and planets could be seen in the swirling mist. "What is that?"

"That fog is generated by the map once it is ready to guide the ship through the Portal, Helar. It completely takes over my helmsman's consciousness and insures that _Voyager_ passes through the Portal safely."

"Ah, I see," said Helar. "We have no such phenomenon surrounding our pilot."

"It's probably only meant for the ship carrying the map," said Janeway. "If you follow closely behind _Voyager_ and broadcast the frequencies in the same order as on the list we just sent you, then you should be safe."

"We will do so," said Helar.

Janeway felt the deckplates tremble under her feet as _Voyager_ began to move slowly into the mouth of the Portal on thrusters. "Helar, we're underway. Match our course and speed."

"Acknowledged, Captain Janeway," said Helar.

_Voyager_ continued to increase speed until it was moving through the Portal at full impulse. The trajectory of the wormhole began to curve upward, and _Voyager_ and _Prosperous Journey_ adjusted course to compensate.

The turbolift doors behind Janeway opened, and she turned in her command seat as Neelix emerged from the lift, surrounded by light mist. He paused next to the Tactical station, and a moment later, Janeway heard Tuvok, Neelix, and Chakotay say "the right turning path shall yield the upward way to the gates of Arka" all at the same time. She looked to her left and saw Chakotay surrounded by the same light mist as Neelix, and then turned back to the viewscreen in time to see that the Third Portal forked in the distance. Paris flew _Voyager_ unerringly into the right fork.

"Hard to starboard, Helar," called out Janeway over the open comm link.

"We see it, Captain Janeway," said Helar. "Pilot Jerat is surrounded by the mist now. It seems that your map also wishes to insure our safety as we follow the right turning path."

"Good to hear it, Helar. Stay sharp."

_Voyager_ and the _Prosperous Journey_ continued upward through the Portal, following a long series of right forks until Janeway began to feel as though she was inside a gigantic corkscrew. The fog surrounding the helm expanded until it obscured the entire viewscreen. Janeway called for a running status report from Ops as they continued to fly through the Third Portal.

"Captain, we've finally emerged," said Kim. "I have unusual readings, but nothing threatening, and the course ahead of us reads as clear."

The mist surrounding all stations and personnel began to dissipate, until at last Fourth Portal space could be seen clearly on the viewscreen.

"Well, that's not quite what I expected," said Janeway.

"I guess the Mapkeepers wanted to give us something different for a little variety," said Chakotay.

"Or maybe Arkad and her five daughters have a sense of humor as twisted as yours, Chakotay," said Torres.

"Indeed," replied Tuvok.

TBC


End file.
